


Their Time

by MossGardenWishingWell



Category: The Goonies (1985)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Rewrite, Closeted Character, Deviates From Canon, F/F, Lesbian Character, Pining, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16312259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MossGardenWishingWell/pseuds/MossGardenWishingWell
Summary: Andy shook her head sadly. “I’m not a Goonie. I wanna go home.”Neither was Stef. And yet… she lived in the Goon Docks. She’s spent her whole life there, getting arm-deep in fish guts and pulling dead crabs from massive vats of her family’s daily catch. The Goonies were all outcasts from the rich families on the hillside, herself included.She was an outcast for other reasons, of which nobody knew about.Maybe she really had been a Goonie this whole time.





	Their Time

**Author's Note:**

> I'm excessive. I've included some of the deleted scenes/elements from the movie because why not.
> 
> I also meant to cut this into chapters but when it came down to it, I couldn't figure out where to make the splits. Apologies for that.

One last vat, and Stef could leave, so said her father forty-five minutes ago. “One last vat” was the thing she heard most commonly from him, and while she was more than happy to lend a hand around the docks, it _always_ came at the expense of losing more time than she wanted. She had a life too, damn it. She had homework to finish, her shows to catch up with, her friends to hang out with.

While it was only a single friend this time, the fact of the matter was that she would much rather be spending the day out than with soggy arms buckets of fish and crabs. It was a weekend, half-to-4, and all she could think about was showing up late to the parking lot of Astoria High School. 4 was when cheerleader practice let out, and 4 was the meeting time she and her best friend, Andy, had set the day before.

Stef was so fixated on getting there on time and even the idea of seeing Andy that she had to actually focus on her job. In truth, she thought of her best friend more than she would ever admit to, for her safety, for Andy’s safety, and for her popularity’s safety. The night after they had spent time together, Stef would lay in bed, replaying the memories of her laugh, the way her cheeks rosied up when she was happy, the way each of her words came out in such a sing-song tone.

It was so overwhelming that sometimes she lost sleep over the guilt she carried with her. Only the crabs and fish and whatever ended up in the Steinbrenner’s fishing nets were the only things she felt comfortable confessing to, under hushed whispers cloaked by the creaking of wood and crashing of water against stone.

Frankly, nobody needed to know she didn’t have an interest in men, and that’s what Stef was going to stick to.

Dock boards shook while her head was dunked into the “one last vat”, reaching down for as much as she could in one breath. Something passed behind her, what felt like cars at breakneck speed, and she choked and came back up for air, a dead crab in her hands. Coughing up gross fish water, she groaned and dropped the crustacean to the ground.

“Did you see that?” Her dad asked when she approached. “There was a car chase with the cops. Gunshots and everything.” He scratched at his chin, weary interest in his eyes in the direction of the supposed chase.

“Nope, didn’t catch that. Are we done now?”

If her dad said “one last vat” one last time, Stef was going to flip. But to her delight, he tossed her a towel and started walking to his truck.

 

She showered twice over at home, trying to hurry while trying to scrub off awful fish smell. The last thing Stef wanted was for anyone, let alone her crush, to get a whiff of anchovies and tuna. Everyone knew she had to work on the docks prior though, and so she made sure to use her good lavender-scented shampoo to make up for it. Being a fisherman’s daughter wasn’t the most glamorous life, compared to the football players and cheerleaders she associated with.

It was 4:10 when she arrived to the school, a light jog in her steps. She kicked herself for being so late. Today was important, it could very easily be the last time they’d be able to spend any time together. Stef lived coast-side in the Goon Docks; “Goonie” was not how she would describe herself, but the rich kids liked to refer to her as such, and so the term stuck. The entire district was set to be demolished in preparation for a new gold course for the Astoria Country Club, which meant that she and her family would have to move, and who knows where they would end up. Anywhere but home was too far from Andy for Stef to stomach.

An autumn breeze rolled through, the muggy remains of a storm hanging in the air, and Stef pulled at the hood of her jacket in case the rain started back up again. The red scarf she wore was for looks rather than function, and was too skinny to keep her neck warm. Such was the trappings of fashion.

As she approached the front of Astoria High School, she saw Andy with some guy in a varsity jacket. Stef frowned, listening from afar; the boy prattled on about practice and Andy giggled and listened. They both were just at said practice, why would they talk about it like they were at two separate events?

“Oh, your friend is here. Stephanie?” The jock nodded her way.

“Stef,” she corrected, her glasses nearly sliding off her nose while she wrinkled it at Andy, who had his country club jacket around her shoulders. She nudged them back up to safety. “We’ve met before.”

They didn’t share classes together, but Stef knew Troy well. He was the running back for the Fighting Fishermen’s, not that she could pick apart the different positions or knew what that even meant. He was shallow, and only paid her any mind when Andy was around. Troy was at least smart enough to hold his tongue when Stef was around, but she knew the kind of locker room talk he and his friends made. It was obvious in his lecherous eyes, eyes that Andy was in the process of falling for. It made Stef sick to her stomach.

Speaking of Andy, she stepped forward and gave her a quick hug. “Your dad kept you, huh?”

“Yeah,” Stef rolled her eyes at the mention of her dirty job. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s totally fine! I was just talking to Troy and he was offering to take us to the country club in his Mustang.”

“Yeah,” he said, smarmy smirk on his stupid face. “It’s not a big problem, is it? Andy said you didn’t have any big plans.”

“Not at all,” the blonde lied, pulling out a piece of gum and starting to chew on it. Gum was her one vice – she couldn’t go five minutes in a bad situation without turning to it for a distraction.

Needless to say she wasn’t pleased about this, because today was supposed to be _their day_ , with no boys to get in the way. But Stef had to admit, his Mustang was a sight to behold. It was cherry red with a single racing stripe down the middle, and it even had a collapsible top, of which was already down. Was it down for his own arrogance or was this joyride planned from the get-go? She wasn’t entirely certain. She had every right in her mind to snipe shotgun away from Andy, in some means to maybe protect her from Sleazeball “Troy” Perkins, but he popped a seat forward before anything could happen and offered it to the cheerleader. Stef climbed back, biting her bottom lip to keep from arguing.

The engine roared alive and they drove out of the school parking lot and into the sleepy town it was built for. Fall really had settled into Oregon, and the overcast sky and oranging leaves set the mood well. Wind blasted back through styled hair, which equally annoyed and relaxed Stef. Maybe she would have maybe enjoyed the ride if the football player didn’t open his damn mouth.

He began boasting about the country club they were headed to, about the tennis courts and the sauna. The turning point of the whole event was when Troy excitedly talked about his father acquiring the Goon Docks.

“You know,” Stef called out over the car, “a _lot_ of people are going to be out of home and work because of that.” Spite dripped from her words, hoping to get the point across to him.

Naturally, he entirely missed it. “Oh, I know! It’s awful, but my dad will be willing to hire people for the club, of course. We’ll need workers, after all!”

Stef frowned, leaning forward and glaring him dead in the eyes. “That includes _me_.”

“...oh, uh.” Honest to god humility and guilt came out of Troy’s mouth, a sound so foreign and alien that his voice cracked slightly. “Sorry to hear that.”

“Stef, hey, relax.” Andy shook her head, brow worried. “We’ve already talked about this. Things will work out, I just know it.”

They pulled into a small parking lot in town, next to a corner Stop n’ Snack. Astoria was readying for Halloween, and orange and black decorations littered the residential and commercial areas. Pumpkins and ghosts and skeletons were in the windows, on lawns, hung to walls. Places up on the hillside had more extravagant displays set up, and at night you could see the lights from down in the Docks, almost as if it was a purposeful show of power, a reminder of who was really in control of the Oregon coast city.

Stef was going to miss home.

Troy was quick to pile them out of his Mustang, offering to buy them snacks or whatever they wanted to make peace. The quick pace made Stef raise an eyebrow, and she convened with the redhead as they walked up to the shop. They shared a quick set of glances: “he’s kind of a jerk, why are we hanging out with him” and “it’s only for a little, things will blow over” and a bell tinkled as they entered.

The only people inside were the cashier slash owner of the store and a group of kids. Stef immediately recognized them as _the_ “Goonies”, the only ones in the area who wore the term proudly. It was impossible to live in the Goon Docks without knowing about them, as word spread whenever trouble was afoot. Chunk, the kid who made up the most unbelievable of stories, was dangling into the ice cream bin, sniffing at each flavor carefully. At the register was Data, doubled over, fixing the tired cashier’s register with one of the tools he always kept in his pockets. The more bookish, Mikey, was doubled over, looking at a set of travel brochures, comparing the two with upmost importance as if his life depended on it.

And in the back, flipping through a lewd magazine, was Clarke. Everyone called him Mouth, on account of him never shutting it. Stef tried to steer clear from him, but living in the same part of such a small town, it was nigh impossible. Not only was he obnoxious has hell, he seemed to latch onto her, and liked to make weird passes at her under the guise of being a joke. It made her uncomfortable for a number of reasons, and she frankly didn’t have the guts or sensibility to tell him to back off on account of her being gay.

Mouth’s eyes flicked up from the pages of _Boudoir_ to stare at her. She grimaced.

Between that and Troy being unpleasant and weird, Stef needed a distraction, so when he offered quarters for the two arcade machines in the store, she took it up. Despite the fact that she attempted to play _I, Robot_ every time she made a stop here, Stef still had no idea how to play the damn thing. You were a robot who had to destroy a giant eye, but you had to blow up the others on the screen, and also paint the surfaces blue, _plus_ there was a space shooter section? It was confusing and hard on the eyes, but she wasn’t going to complain this time, especially when Mouth wandered over and started playing the game next to her.

Her attention snapped away when Chunk started hollering. The distraction made her lose her last life in game, and she huffed in annoyance. Stef turned to complain about the noise, but found Troy dunking Chunk entirely into the freezer.

Mikey jumped to his friend’s defense, but Troy was quick. He snatched away something of his, holding it aloft and out of Mikey’s reach. Mouth joined the fray, arms flailing around stupidly, and Stef watched incrediously as the hooligans fought and argued in the convenience store. As the rich boy took one of Mikey’s maps, lit the end up with a pocket lighter, and began to smoke from it, she flashed a look to Andy, who seemed just as frustrated. “Stand-up guy,” Stef mouthed to her.

Teenage boys cried out and, in a flash, Troy tackled Mouth to the floor. Mikey climbed onto him, trying to shake him off, which drew the bully’s attention away. All focus was now on the athsmatic kid, who struggled and tried to get away as Troy raised a fist.

Before Stef could even notice the door to the place had been opened, someone pushed her aside and caught Troy’s hand, wrenching back and out of the way. He muttered something while cornering the football player against a rack of soda. Stef recognized him: Brandon Walsh, Mikey’s brother. He was kind of quiet and kept to himself, but Andy went out of her way to talk to him on occasion. Stef and him had talked a few times, but all they had in common was living in the Goon Docks.

Either way, everything was a shit show. Stef shook her head and muttered to herself about men.

Troy inched away from Brand and barked out, “I just can’t _wait_ until Monday when my father kicks all you trash out in the _street_ where you _belong_! While all you _Goonies_ are piling all your stuff in a moving van, I’ll be teeing off on what _used_ to be your front lawn!”

Stef chewed so hard on her bubblegum that she thought she was going to shatter her teeth. Troy stormed over, shouting about court time at the country club, before continuing said storm to his Mustang. She shot a look of “you chose this” to Andy that she would regret halfway back to the convertible. She didn’t want to get back into his car, but did she have any other choice? Making a scene on top of a scene that had just happened wasn’t en vogue, and so she closed her eyes as she sank back into faux leather. When the car doors slammed shut, they peeled out so fast the tires burnt out a little.

They hit the nearby forest in no time at all, the clear air helping clear everyone’s heads. Out in the edges of the Ecola State Park, overcast skies fit the treetops in picturesque perfection. Fall felt _right_ in Astoria – not blistering hot like the summers, not frozen over like the winters. The atmosphere it set helped everything from fifteen minutes ago blow over, leaving Stef only vaguely wary of the jock. Dancing on the kids’ preemptive graves was a bit much, but it was hard to stay entirely mad while sailing down the roads of the forest, especially when he turned on his nice stereo and let the two girls pick out a radio station and even sing along to a song.

“Sorry I lost my cool back there,” he said, lifting off the gas to coast a little, fixing his rear view mirror at the same time. “I was just trying to have a little fun. Not my fault they didn’t want to play along.” Before Stef could wonder why that sounded familiar, he kept talking. “Oh, I didn’t buy you anything to eat. When we get to the club, we can grab some lunch. How’s that sound?”

“ _Please_! I’m hungry,” Andy giggled. “A fancy sandwich sounds really good right about now.”

“Yeah, I’ll get you the fanciest sandwich the club’s got.” Troy fiddled with the mirror again.

Stef popped her gum. “Something wrong with the mirror?”

“Oh, nah. Just trying to get a… good view.”

Stef could tell Andy’s eyebrows flew up just from a quick posture change. She whined aloud, “T-Troy! What are you doing?”

He chuckled and fixed the mirror back. “What? I’m not doing anything.” The playful nature in his voice told another story.

Sure enough, as they drive, he obviously kept fixing the mirror, giving him a view of Andy, who protested over and over. Perhaps her only fault as a best friend, Stef always found it hard to ever take Andy’s complaining seriously. Not that she didn’t respect her; whenever Andy’s voice rose, it took on just enough of a trill that set her aglow. She was incredibly cute and, frankly, attractive when she asserted herself.

Stef couldn’t help but giggle. Curiosity got the better of her and, in a rather admittedly sleazy move, she leaned back just enough to catch a glimpse of the reflection. Troy had it angled at the edge of her skirt, against her thighs. Stef bashfully smirked to herself before something else caught her eye.

Some idiot was pedaling down the hill in front of them on what looked like a little girl’s bicycle, hunched over with their hood up. Stef immediately recognized who it was.

“Hey, there’s Brand,” she said, sitting up straight and pretending as if she wasn’t partaking in enjoying Andy’s body.

“Oh, _like the bike_ ,” Troy said, honking his horn.

Andy’s voice grew from disgusted annoyance to concern. “What is he doing?”

Stef couldn’t help but laugh. “No wonder he can’t get a license.”

“We should go see what’s wrong,” the redhead requested.

Troy drummed his fingers on the wheel, considering everything, but honked the horn again and cruised down to meet him. Brand came to a stop and waited his social statuses’ death, leaning onto the car and panting loudly. He was exhausted, to say the least, and finally spared a look up at the three.

“Brand,” Andy asked, “Can we give you a ride somewhere?

“Huh?” Sweat poured down his face, the red bandana on his head not doing much to help with that. “No. Thanks anyways, though.”

Something inside Troy snapped, probably frustration from the previous encounter at the convenience store. “Yeah Walsh,” he said revving his card up loudly and slamming a hand down on Brand’s arm. “Let us give you a little ride.”

The car started forward. Stef leaned forward and began shaking Brand, with Andy lending a hand as well. Poor Brand, he was dragged along by the rich asshole, who was too strong to escape from. Hands and arms slapped up against him and his shoulders, and they both cried out to let go, that he was going to kill the eldest Walsh brother, but all they received was a shit-eating grin and laugh.

The car quickly approached a sharp turn. Troy let go at the last second and Brand careened over the edge with a scream of horror, down into a steep forested hill.

Troy turned up the music and laughed yet again, plugging the gas down all the way and letting his internal speed demon take over.

“Troy, what the _hell_ was that?!” Andy screeched out at him. “He’s probably hurt!”

“Or worse, he’s _dead_ ,” Stef called out coldly.

“Relax, relax! He’ll be fine, he’s a sturdy guy. So what if he breaks a leg or both? I’ve got lawyers, I--” A sharp elbow met Troy’s mouth while he adjusted his mirror one last time.

The car swerved a little and slowed down while he checked his lip. It was bleeding quite a bit, something Troy wasn’t expecting.

Andy stabbed a finger in his direction. “Pull over,” she demanded.

“What?”

“ _Pull over_.”

The Mustang came to a full stop, engine still on. Andy unbuckled and got out of the car; Stef climbed out after her, running a hand through her hair and casting judgmental eyes onto Troy.

Troy leaned over to reason with Andy. “Hey, listen. It was just a joke! It got out of hand! I’m really sorry--”

“ _What is it with men and saying everything is a joke?_ ” Stef shrugged up at the sky in an attempt to ask God why she had to put up with this, and started walking off. She didn’t bother to even look back, and hoped that Andy would follow. She heard Troy drive off, worry that she would be walking back all alone flooding her mind. The quiet sound of footsteps approaching relieved her of that fear.

“Okay, I admit it,” Andy said sheepishly, “he’s not the greatest guy. He has nice arms though, and I have a weakness for football players.”

The blonde sighed loudly and pulled out another piece of gum. The entire situation was stupid; Stef recognized this on the regular, but the reminder was awfully loud in that moment. She was gay and in love with a straight girl, one that was painfully straight even. Andy was the typical cheerleader, who ends up with the typical school football player. Stef couldn’t hate her for it, she wasn’t sure if she could hate her at all, but damned be if it wasn’t a soul-crushing situation to be in.

But it was just the two of them now, only the sounds of them walking and the wind blowing through the tops of the trees giving any atmosphere. No car, no Troy, nothing between the two of them. It was personable and cozy, and it was a real shame that Stef was in a bad mood, otherwise maybe she’d enjoy it.

“You deserve better,” Stef thought, only continuing after she realized she muttered it aloud. “Like, if that kind of guy is your type… I’m sure there’s someone better for it than Spoiled Boy Troy.”

Andy giggled and hung on Stef’s arm. “Yeah, there probably is.”

They walked more like that, with Stef hesitantly raising and wrapping her arm around Andy’s shoulder. She ought to pull Andy behind a tree and explain that no boy would ever be good for her, that boys were trouble, that they’d take advantage of her, that she’s too good for them, and then maybe Stef would confess her feelings and kiss her, but it was a total pipe dream, a footnote of a thought that fluttered away the same moment she even considered it.

“I think Brand’s nice,” Andy said, breaking the silence. “He’s kind of quiet, but he does try to protect his brother. His arms are nice, too. We’ve got a date on Friday actually. Maybe I should have told Troy that...”

Stef bit her tongue, but nodded. If she was going to like a guy, Brand was the least offender of being a jackass, as a humble Goonie. At the very least she could accept this truth and it wouldn’t entirely consume her alive.

She kicked a rock. “I hope he’s okay.”

“Should we go check on him?”

“Yeah probably.”

The two hiked down the road until they reached the fated right turn (a left turn from their perspective). Looking down from the top of the hill, there was a heavy looking skid mark in the leaves and dirt. Too steep to walk down, they found a path that led down to Cannon Beach nearby. If they weren’t in such a hurry, it would have been a pretty walk, but they had to check on a guy who hurdled off a hillside at forty plus miles an hour.

There was a crumpled pink bike at the bottom, and a bit of torn jacket, but no Brand.

“...maybe he evaporated into nothing,” Stef couldn’t help but joke.

Andy cracked a smile. “He must be around here somewhere.”

Gray skies entirely hid the sun at this point. It would be setting soon, and so the two girls picked up the pace. They walked up a hill nearby to get a better vantage point, nearly out of breath by the time they arrived. Scanning the area carefully for a survivor of a near-fantastical bike crash, Stef saw a gaggle of people behind a bush and some driftwood, over near an old building. Squinting, she could make out the kids from before with Brand, and they all seemed to be arguing, of course.

“Ugh...” she grumbled.

They walked over, a car leaving the old house, of which the boys seemed very interested in. Andy held a finger to her lips at Stef, and they snuck up the rest of the way, hands clamping down on two of them. The rest exclaimed and nearly jumped out of their skin.

“You scared me! Almost gave me a heart attack,” Chunk yelled.

Mouth was unimpressed and faced Stef, who rolled her eyes and decided to give him the time of day, if just to fill his Annoy Stephanie Steinbrenner Quota. “Hey Mouth, you look better from behind.”

“Oh yeah, you wanna see something really scary?” He sneered and pulled out a pocket mirror, always kept on his person to make sure he always looked fly. “Look at that.”

The rest of the boys agreed and Stef let them get away with it. With his win, Mouth strutted off, bumping into her shoulder while he passed.

Brand pretended like he hadn’t been surprised. “How’d you get here?”

“We followed you guys,” Andy answered. “We were out driving with Troy.”

The Goonies gave Brand a sympathetic look, who hung his head while they stomped off. He tilted his face away from the two; a quick eye could see a bad scrape on his cheek and bruises all over that Stef couldn’t help but feel guilty for in association with Troy, even if she hated his guts.

Andy checked at it with a hand. “Sorry about your face.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Brand mumbled while wiping at it for probably the umpteenth time. “I was born with it.” He continued while Stef turned back to keep an eye on the kids, “...I’m kidding.”

“Anyway, he was being such a jerk. Y’know, tilting the mirror so he could look down my shirt?”

Stef continued to glance away, a guilty chuckle escaping from her lip. She was a jerk in taking part of that, but admitting that would be admitting to a lot more, so she said nothing on the matter.

“...so I elbowed his lip.”

“You elbowed his lip?” Brand asked with a broad smile.

Andy laughed and he joined in. Tired of awkwardly watching them flirt, Stef interjected to save the conversation. “So, what’s the Goon Squad up to? Seems like trouble.”

Brand rolled his eyes and leaned against the sturdy slab of driftwood. “Mikey stole something from my dad’s attic. Ran out of the house despite his asthma. Mom’s gonna kill me if I don’t get him home soon...”

“Kind of a weird place to come to, isn’t it?” Andy looked behind Brand, at the building across the way. “What’s got them interested in some abandoned restaurant?”

“Mikey told them about some--” Brand glanced back to watch Chunk bulldoze his way through the front door of the building. “Oh, for Christ’s sake.”

He jogged over, Andy’s hand in his. Stef would have been bothered if not for the fact that this was indeed an abandoned building – an old restaurant, the Lighthouse Lounge. Wood was rotting, the foundation clearly crumbling to pieces. Mixed with the moody weather, it set her on edge, and she didn’t really want to hang around.

“You wait here one second, okay?” Brand said, pointing at Andy and not Stef whatsoever (it was something she was used to at this point). “I’ll be right back.”

Andy wasn’t impressed. “You guys are going to get into trouble!”

“I’m gonna go get my brother, alright? Just don’t leave, alright?” He hurried inside.

The two girls looked at each other, agreeing that neither of them were going to stick around. Arm in arm they stepped away from the creepy establishment, watching the Oregon coastline intently. Stef tugged down on her scarf, clutching at it tight – it was either that or taking Andy’s hand, which would have made her nerves explode entirely.

“I don’t want to know what’s in that building,” Stef worried her lip. “Why was a car here? It looks like it’s been abandoned for months.”

“Months? Looks more like years...” Andy nudged her shoulder, trying to cheer her up. “It’s probably nothing. He’ll go drag them out, then we can go hang out.”

“Yeah, I--”

Stef stepped on something hard and metal, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Out of her blind spot, something whipped up and into her face, something that resembled a fish and some sort of cryptid. The stench was overwhelming too – familiar, like fish, but rotten and decaying, like death. Their escape was a total blur. Apparently they both screamed and bolted up and into the house, away from the horrors of the surroundings. Whatever that was, they felt safer in what was probably haunted than outside with that Thing.

Andy darted for Brand and, frankly, so did Stef. He did have arms after all, and could probably wrestle that thing to submission if it pursued. Lights suddenly shattering and sparking everywhere sent another bolt of adrenaline down her spine, entirely overwhelming her.

When it was all over, she glanced around, catching her breath, feeling very, very small. The interior of the restaurant was coated in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. All the tables and chairs were either scattered across the room or entirely broken. The air was musty and still, and very foreboding. Andy was probably right, this place had probably been out of commission for _years_.

“Oh my god,” Andy breathed, clinging to Brand.

“It was disgusting, you should have seen it--”

Stef exclaimed. “ _It jumped out from the bushes, it almost killed us I swear to god._ ”

Brand only offered a raised eyebrow.

“Come on Brand, _please_?” Mikey called out, “What if we find something, huh? A couple more minutes isn’t gonna hurt!”

The older Walsh doubled down firmly. “Come on Mikey, we’re going _right now_.”

Stef prepared to turn around and leave just as quick as she came in, but instead she heard Andy speak up. Her head snapped back over in disbelief, seeing her best friend flirt with a boy in a scary spooky shack that apparently was haunted by a fish demon or something more horrifying. She didn’t even bid her a listen, and Stef couldn’t help but make a face at how painfully straight this was.

The boys all clamored for Andy, cheering her on and thanking her, and then stumbled down the stairs and into the probably bug-infested basement.

“What’s down there?” Andy asked, fluttering her eyelashes up at Brand.

He wiped at his previous battle scars again. “They think there’s treasure buried down here. Mikey’s obsessed with that One-Eyed Willy pirate.”

“Oh,” Stef said, ditching her previous gum for a new piece. “Name’s familiar… I think the museum did an exhibit on him?”

“Yeah, that would be my dad’s donations.” Brand sighed and stepped forward. “C’mon. Let’s go make sure none of them hurt themselves...”

She followed along awkwardly, with Andy hanging on his shoulder with a soft giggle. Stef hesitated as they came to the staircase – it was made of old stone, and, if it was built into the foundation, was probably falling apart day by day. Either way, she stepped down, only coming to a stop when she heard a horrible groan, startling everyone to a stop.

Stef glanced up, eyes searching for the source of said noise. “Chunk, I hope that was your stomach...”

“No,” Mikey said, with what sounded like an oncoming asthma attack in his throat. “That’s the It.”

The It? The thing from before? She stood there, worry mixed with apprehension and frustration into a Bad Feels cocktail. Chunk made some remark and something roared in the deepest part of the basement, snapping her attention back up.

“C’mon, wanna see it?” Mikey glanced back to her and the rest, who all shook their heads together. “Don’t worry! It’s chained to the wall.”

Against her better judgment, Stef followed. She looked for a cute girl to cling to, but found Andy already huddled against Brand and his nice arms, which left her feeling like she was a thousand miles away, looking into a cozy home. Scowling to herself, she decided to stick close to the boys, stepping ahead to back them up, in case whatever monster made that horrible noise decided to break loose.

Mikey and Mouth exchanged some sort of distressed aside while the door was unlatched and swung open. This new room was darker and damper than the corridor, unlike the dust-coated main floor. The only light shone on a strange lump of shapes, indescribable from the back. It looked like some sort of grotesque statue of a man, and everyone was caught off guard when arms raised up with a metal rattle and an anguished scream echoing off the walls.

All the boys reeled back and pushed Stef back, who in turn bumped into the two lagging behind her. They all tumbled back, her head just barely missing clipping an old wooden door frame. She managed to escape a dog pile of falling teenage boys, groaning as she stumbled away to lean against the wall.

Stef opened her mouth to berate the Goonies, but her words caught in her throat as she watched Andy atop of Brand, near kiss. She had fallen for him, quite literally, onto a bench, and here her lips were about to fall onto his, and all Stef could do was stare in utter disbelief. What was she meant to do? What was she meant to say?

“Shame shame,” Chunk said playfully, followed by a “I know your name!” from Data. The two chuckled heartily.

Mouth, of course, added his own colorful narrative. “C’mon Brand. Slip her the tongue!”

The mental image of Andy and Brand excitedly making out entered Stef’s mind, who couldn’t handle it. She grimaced aloud, “That’s disgusting, no, I can’t even look,” and turned away.

Arms folded, she stared anywhere else, sucking in gross dust breath and waiting for her nightmarish thoughts to blow over. She wiggled her toes, wrung her hands together, anything to distract from blooming young love while her own feelings silently begged for sunlight or water or _anything_ so it could hit a blossom.

When she turned back around, the boys had dispersed throughout the room, looking for their hidden treasure. An old stone fireplace matched the rest of the floor and foundation. A massive mechanical machine sat there, looking like some kind of torture device from centuries ago, and there was a lone water cooler, which Chunk gleefully started drinking from.

As Stef glanced around, her eyes met Andy’s, who stood there alone, immediately knew something was up.

“What’s wrong? Why are you giving me that look?”

Stef chewed at her gum, teeth scraping against her cheeks repeatedly. “I… think we should go. I don’t think it’s safe here, with… with that _thing_ , and--”

“It’s chained up, isn’t it?” Andy asked, a playful smile on her face that nearly betrayed Stef’s emotional state. “We’ll entertain the boys, then we can hang out with Brand and.” She blushed and the last five words came out as a whisper: “I’m going to kiss him.”

It was those five words that crushed Stef’s soul, and it was zero words she had to offer in return.

“Okay? C’mon, we can do it!”

Andy gave a reassuring slap to Stef’s shoulder, which knocked her out of her shock. “No, wait a minute! No. No… offense, but like, I don’t want to be a third wheel to this. I wanted to hang out with you and only you today. It was supposed to be just _you and me_...”

“ _Please?_ ” Andy pleaded with her, gave her big sad eyes. She wanted this, she honestly, truly wanted this. She was boy-crazy, and in that moment, Stef realized that maybe this was just a colossal waste of time.

She considered storming out on her best friend, considered going back outside and braving what was probably a dark sky with no flashlight or way home other than her own two feet. But instead, Stef licked her lips and gave the tiniest of nods. “Okay. Okay. But _only_ because you want to.”

The cheerleader bounced around excitedly and gave Stef a quick hug, who didn’t have the reaction time nor the energy to return it. “Thank you Stef! You’re the best!”

A little light died inside of Stef, and she accepted defeat.

The _thwap_ of metal against stone sounded out and the two glanced over to watch Mikey attempt to mine his way through the ground with only a fire poker. His arms wobbled violently and Brand yanked the metal rod away from him, berating him loudly and starting to argue over the existence of pirate treasure in the 1980s.

Mouth cut them off. “Lookit, I got an idea! Why don’t we just pour chocolate all over the floor and let Chunk eat his his way through?” He gave Chunk a massive grin.

The boy who constantly rambled about food stared up from the water cooler. His voice grew uncharacteristically quiet and serious. “Okay Mouth, that’s all I can stand. And I can’t stand no more--”

And as he stood, he knocked the glass cooler over, catching it, doing an ungraceful dance while trying to balance it, until it toppled and shattered across the floor, water spilling everywhere.

Stef sighed loudly. “This is ridiculous. It’s crazy, I feel like I’m babysitting except I’m not getting paid.” The boys turned back to the puddle of water, and Stef turned back to Andy. “...I am only doing this because I...”

She hesitated to say the words even in the most platonic sense, as it secretly wasn’t platonic at all, and it gave Mikey just enough time to shush her. “Listen to that!”

Everyone glanced around confused, listening to dripping water, with Mouth sarcastically remarking on it sounding like his grandfather taking “a leak”, by his own words.

“No, no, it’s deep, like there’s a hole… or a passageway. Real deep!” He knelt down next to the fireplace and everyone else followed, save for the two girls.

Stef watched intently, hoping the charade would soon be over, and then she could hang out with Andy alone, without any boys. Perhaps, instead, she could go home and cry herself to sleep, so she could move away and start fresh with feelings on someone else. The latter was starting to sound more and more appealing by the second.

“Brand is being so sweet to them--”

“Oh _come on, come on_!” Stef rolled her head back along with her eyes, officially Done. “Where are you?! You’re in the clouds and _we_ are in a basement!”

She would have continued complaining, but the scraping of metal cut her off, and so did the younger Walsh crying out “I told you” over and over.

Andy stepped forward, and Stef caught her without thought. “I think they actually found something?” She said, not even looking back to her best friend.

“Good,” Stef said bitterly. “Good for them.”

A machine whirred to life, not that either of them had the time to investigate that when Brand shoved his foot down through something that broke apart. Everything was happening so quick that it was overwhelming, and Stef rubbed at her brow under her glasses.

“I need… a nap.”

Andy laughed and gave her a reassuring side-hug. She was gaining a trend of being cut off, as before she could return the gesture, Data started shouting about…

“Did he say fifty dollar bill?”

“Did he say fifty dollar bills?”

Stef exchanged a double-take between her and Data, who started screaming about saving the Goon Docks with the money. Everyone clamored over to look at his discovery, and he handed out sheets of paper; no ordinary sheets of paper though, they were freshly pressed fifty dollar bills, with Grant on them and everything. No longer was this a matter of Stef having a broken heart, her focus was now on her home, and how it was going to be safe after all. She didn’t have to move up the coast with her family, she didn’t have to leave her home, she didn’t have to leave Andy. Relieved adrenaline made her chew her gum faster than ever before.

“ _Quiet!_ ” Brand shouted out over the boys as he closely inspected the paper. “They’re fake. They’re bogus, they’re phony!”

Data whined, “No it’s not! No it’s not! No!”

Well, so much for that. Seems now _all_ of her hopes and dreams had been dashed away, and Stef left her copies with Andy, stepping away to clear her head, if possible at all. Both the stress of the day’s events plus the horrible air quality was catching up to her, and she needed a breather. That, with the shouting, was leading her to a massive headache. She pinched at the bridge of her nose, hard, only stopping when she passed by a phone hanging on the wall.

Stef lifted the reciever out of curiousity – no service. It probably hadn’t seen service in decades, which worried her. This Lighthouse Lounge… why was it still here? And why were people here? Thinking to herself, she fixed her glasses and started back to the group, but something caught out of the corner of her eye.

The front of the local newspaper dated today was hanging above the phone like the drawing of a four year old on a refrigerator door. Second prints of the paper were unheard, and the only reason she knew about it was because her dad made small talk with her about it while giving her a ride to her school.

The headline story read “FRATELLIS AT IT AGAIN” and warned about some sort of Italian mobster family that had escaped jail in a surprisingly cunning string of events. This memory jogged hers, and she remembered her dad commenting on a police chase by the docks… with guns involved.

“You guys!” She swiveled around and rushed back to the group. “I recognize these people!”

Data pointed repeatedly at the man without glasses. “That’s the guy from upstairs!”

“Hey, the guy who tried to sing,” Mikey confirmed.

Chunk was having none of it. “See, you guys? You never listen to me! I said there was gonna be trouble but you didn’t listen to me!” He started to walk off defiantly, “You guys are crazy! You know, you guys are self-destructive! There’s a funny farm and it has your names written all over it! But I’m getting out of here. Bu--”

He stopped in his tracks.

“I smell ice cream.”

Of course. Stef ran a hand through her hair and watched him open a freezer and begin to dig through what was stored in there. She didn’t realize at first, but as everyone slowly started to walk over, she soon noticed a very large black bag in the freezer. The size was unsettling, so was the fact that it was clearly a dead body.

She had no words for the situation, and neither did anyone else for that matter. Frankly, she hoped that this was now just one unfortunate dream, and that she would wake up and none of this never would have happened – she never had to watch her crush fall for two guys in one day, she never had to be scared half to death by some sea creature, she never had to find some abomination shackled to the wall, she never had to see a dead body at age sixteen.

Chunk excitedly named every flavor of ice cream in the book and turned, blissfully unaware. “What, what?” He asked, with Mikey casually pointing behind him.

Chunk turned. So did the bag. The ex-man’s face was ghastly, jaws open, no muscles working to keep it open. A bullet hole adorned the middle of his forehead, which didn’t help. Stef decided that maybe she didn’t want to go home and sleep after all, because that image probably wouldn’t leave her mind for weeks.

The kid with arms full of ice cream started screaming, which was not welcome in the slightest. Entirely unable to help with the “stiff” flopping down to the floor, Stef cradled her head, that concept of a headache now an onset threat. Today was just not her day.

A door slammed open above. She froze and watched the floorboards above move as people entered the Lounge; it sounded like three sets of footsteps, but she couldn’t be too sure. Dust and dirt and gross bug stuff fell between the cracks and onto her face, but she dare not move even to wipe it away.

An old woman’s voice: “Somebody’s been here, the door’s open.”

“Thought I shut it. Who left the lights on?” A man.

“You did!” Another man?

Matched the Fratellis’ numbers. Not good.

Chunk clearly had a better nose than Stef, because he quietly pined out. “Pizza? Pepperoni?” Both words met with annoyed shushing.

Something clattered to the floor.

“Ma, he’s eating my pepperoni again.”

“You want your pepperoni? Huh?”

The two men stumbled in place. “C’mon! C’mon, let’s kill each other over the pepperoni!”

“Put that gun away!”

Stef shrank back at the sound of that.

“I said put that gun away _now_!”

“You always take his side, ma, you always liked him be--”

“That’s right!” _Slap_.

The three dispersed a little, and Mikey nudged everyone at the body. They couldn’t just leave it there, obviously, if they wanted to get out alive. Stef finally helped out, trying not to think about the fact she was helping lug a dead body into a freezer. Making sure it wasn’t going to go anywhere, they finally shut the door to the freezer and regrouped.

It was now a search for a way out. Data quietly started to devise an incredibly unlikely plan of giving the Fratellis the run-around and escaping out the front door. Stef didn’t like the odds, since they had _guns_ , but it was either that or sitting and hoping they weren’t found down here. She followed after the rest of them, carefully moving out of the room, until Brand stopped and turned back. His little brother wasn’t moving along.

“Mikey? Mikey, come on!” He hissed.

Mikey stuck a finger towards the fireplace. “The fireplace, Brand. It’s the only way out. You guys will never get out that way.”

“What?”

There was a glint in Mikey’s eye, something that resembled passion and stupidity all in one. He folded his arms and gave one short nod and Stef already hated where this was going. He whispered something to himself, something that was probably very gratifying and filled his fantasy narrative of buried treasure hidden in plain sight.

To her surprise, though, Brand stepped forward _not_ to yank him away by the collar, but to lead everyone to the secret tunnel under the building. Stef couldn’t believe this was happening and had to bite back a very loud and pained groan.

There went Brand, down into the hole, which he could barely fit through with his broad shoulders. Andy was second, to Stef’s annoyance, probably landing in his arms to be pulled into a deep kiss.

Footsteps and arguing drew from down the hall. Mouth hopped down, being a sarcastic turd about it. Stef figured it was as good as any time to climb down, both hoping to break up any romantic shenanigans or to avoid any romantic shenanigans happening just feet below her.

The air? Worse down here. So was the foundation and the wooden supports, all coated in untouched dust that grimed up her hands. Who even knew if this was a way out? For all she knew, for all any of them knew, they were waltzing to being lost underground for weeks until they starved and died. Feet nearly stepped on her fingers and she hurried down.

To her relief, Andy hung back while Brand helped everyone down. Stef winced back a cough in her throat and hugged her tightly, obviously relieved that she was okay, secretly relieved she and Brand weren’t getting to know each other more closely.

“Chunk,” Data called out quietly. “Where’s Chunk?”

“Oh no,” Andy whispered, leaning into Stef’s arms.

Her hug grew more protective, worried that their looking for their friend would alert the Fratellis their whereabouts. As Brand and Mikey stuck their head out, the mobsters entered the room, arguing aloud about a “brother” and a zoo, with a slap punctuating their voices halfway through. And just like that, the voices grew quiet and they were finally alone and, more importantly, safe.

The two brothers muttered something to someone above and then climbed back down to join the rest of them.

“Wait a minute,” Mouth worried. “Where’s Chunk?”

“He went to go get the police.”

“Go, the Fratellis are there, we gotta go!”

Stef didn’t need to be told that twice and started pulling Andy along down the unknown corridor of jutting rock and dirt. They walked; a bunch of rowdy teenagers behind them made the space cramped and small, but she was determined to get away and out. Along with the rest of them, Stef pushed through, twisting her arms and body around to slip through the smaller sections. Tree roots cleaved through the ceiling and forced them to crawl in some spots.

Ten minutes later, sick of painfully climbing around rocks, Andy complained. “We’ve been walking _forever_. How much further do you plan on going?”

As they finally came across a wider opening, Mouth pushed his way, shoving Stef against the redhead. Any other time she would have perhaps enjoyed being this close to Andy, but this wasn’t the time. She wrinkled her nose, barked out, “Ow, Mouth, you stepped on my _foot_ ,” and her glasses slipped off her nose to the floor. She swore to herself, “I dropped my glasses, I can’t see a thing, oh my god.”

She squinted hard and started to kneel down to search in the dark cave, but Mikey bashfully came up to her, holding something in his hands. “I found your glasses, I’m sorry...”

“You broke my glasses? _You broke my glasses!_ ” She grabbed them and put them to her nose. Both lenses were shattered, with one temple bent inwards – completely unusable.

It didn’t stop her from trying to bend it back into place, in hopes that they could salvaged, but it was no use. Atop of everything else, Stef didn’t even want to think about how angry her parents were going to be. Defeated, she pocketed her glasses, hoping that maybe bringing them back could lessen whatever punishment would be dealt to her.

Without her glasses, everyone was more or less a fuzzy blob. The two Walsh-shaped ones harassed the Data-shaped one for a light, and the latter whirled around, pulling back its coat and fiddling with something underneath.

“Bully Blinders!”

The entire room light up with piercing, blinding light shining everyone’s way. Data began blabbering about his invention while Stef stumbled forward, practically tripping over Mikey all the while, begging for the little inventor to turn around. Hands grabbed at her from behind, and she prayed to god it wasn’t Mouth, because she did _not_ have the patience for that.

The Bully Blinders faded as soon as they turned on. “Oh, Data, sorry guys.” Data shrugged, “Only problem is: batteries don’t last so long, guys.”

With the flashlights gone, Mikey called out. “Guys, there’s a light up ahead. Maybe we can get out that way! Let’s go!”

Stef stumbled through the dark, eventually seeing the light the Goonie noticed. Indeed, it seemed to be natural of some kind. It didn’t help her notice something low-hanging though, and for the second time that day she nearly bonked her head. Ducking under, she watched the boys all huddle around, fiddling with something they found on the ground. A lantern, by the look of it being lit up.

“Careful of the pipes,” Andy said a little too late.

Stef sighed and pulled her bangs up. “I can’t see anything.” Realizing who was the most handy with waterworks, she bit the bullet. “Mouth, your father’s a plumber, what are these pipes all about?”

She came forward next to Andy, watching Mouth climb around, identifying the different types while the other boys argued about their new light. “Gas pipes… Drainage..? Maybe—wait a minute guys! Shut up for a minute!”

Everyone shut up to listen.

“Okay, lookit,” he said, gesturing around. “These pipes must lead to a building or something… a foundation. So maybe if we bang on them hard enough, if we make enough noise...”

The Goonies jumped to action, grabbing whatever they could and rattling it to death, screaming as loud as they could, in the hopes that maybe someone would hear or notice the commotion. Andy and Stef shrugged and joined in, throwing their entire weights against metal. It was all coated in a thick layer of wet grime, but it was too late to be worrying about not being dirty.

It was a madhouse down under the earth. Data was dangling around off of one pipe, Andy swinging back and forth on another like a gymnastic routine. The sound of fists against rusted steel echoed around, hopefully sounding off above ground. The pipe that Stef took her attention to rattled in place before entirely breaking away from the wall. Spilling water—what she _hoped_ was water—all over the floor, and the rest of the pipes whistled aloud. Leaks start to burst, pipes began to break. The entire structure began to quake violently in their grasps, threatening to give away entirely.

Steam began flooding the room, and all the metal groaned, screeching in agony. Stef gave pause, along with everyone else.

“ _Reverse pressure!_ ” Mouth hollered and one main fixture burst open entirely, hosing out liquid at max velocity.

Panic ensued. Stef, practically blind from the fog and water and lack of glasses, grabbed Andy’s hand and pulled her close; the redhead fought back for a moment, but jumped into her arms and ducked her head away as one pipe swung around wildly like a lawn water sprinkler. Her grip tightened against Stef, clinging to her like her life depended on it.

Water flooded up against Stef’s high-tops, leaking against canvas and onto her socks. The amount of it was surprising, scary even. Who knew how long it’d take to flood the room? She looked for escape, from the way they came, but she couldn’t see a damn thing.

Brand caught her attention, his voice drowned out by the commotion. Instead he pointed to the wall nearby. The water had opened up a hole there; it wasn’t the safest, probably, it was their best bet for survival. Wading through what was quickly becoming ankle-deep sludge, Stef pushed Andy through first before climbing down through the slick mud out of the flooding underground room.

“Are you guys okay?” Data asked as they all scurried away, soaking wet.

“ _No_ ,” Andy choked. “ _We could have died._ ”

Brand came to Andy’s side, pushing past Stef. “Andy are you alright?”

“ _I already said no! We’re trapped in some awful cave with no end in sight. We’ve been walking for ages, the only light before was in that awful plumbing hole, and now all we have is a lantern. What if we lose the lantern? How are we going to see then?_ ”

Stef frowned took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “We’ll be fine,” she assured. “Things will be fine.”

“ _No! No, you don’t know! What if we’re trapped? Oh my god we’re so done for, we’re going to die!_ ”

Brand sighed and glanced between the two. “I’ll bring up the rear, you keep her company.”

Stef didn’t need to be told twice. She pulled Andy in close and started walking her, while she babbled aloud. “ _We should have stayed with Troy. We should have stayed with Troy._ ”

“Andy no, don’t say that. He was a jackass.”

“ _We would have been safe!_ ”

“Andy I’m _right here_ with you. You’re safe with me, I _promise_.”

“ _We would have been safe!_ ”

Stef swallowed her pride and pulled her along. The group came to a turn in the passage, and the boys hurried ahead to check it out.

“A lantern! Look you guys, a lantern!” Mikey shouted back at them, something that didn’t thrill her whatsoever. “Somebody must have been here before us!”

Data called out, “Maybe they’re still here!”

Stef scrunched up her face. “ _God I hope not_.”

Mouth distracted them with a pack of old cigarettes, and Andy kept walking, slipping ahead of the group. Brand followed after her, and Stef had no choice but to hang back. She’d be safe with him, regrettably.

Andy was a huge mess, crying about the situation still. Everything in Stef urged her to rush ahead back to her aid, but alas, she was stuck doing a conga train with the Goonies, sticking close to the light of the lantern. Even with that, she kept nearly tripping, stubbing her toe hard once. Her scarf caught up along the wall as well, and she paused, realizing how damn dangerous that thing was. What if had gotten caught on something in the previous room?

“ _I should’ve let him look at my body_ ,” Andy wailed. “ _Don’t I have a beautiful body? Don’t I have a beautiful body?_ ” She turned to Brand, hands to her chest.

Stef scowled, her face feeling heavy while she stuck her useless scarf around her belt. Of course that was directed to Brand, of course she would she would say that to Brand and not her. She should have stuck with her, she should have stayed buddied up. She began to call out to her, to ensure she knew she had a beautiful body, but her words were drowned out, and so she bit her tongue, hard and pushed her way through.

“ _How many more years do I have before I get all fat? Before my hair falls out? Before I look like him?_ ”

When Stef’s arms came up and started to wrap around Andy’s waist, she screamed in horror. A split second made the blonde think it was her fault, but as she glanced around her best friend, she saw the terror: a body, dead for years, only a withered skeleton now, bugs crawling all over it. She grimaced hard and yanked Andy back, away from the group, away from whoever that was. Heart pumping and hard breathing, she shut her eyes and tried not to think about it. Two corpses in one night. Could get this get any worse?

Andy smothered her face against Stef and sobbed violently, who could only shakily raise a hand and cradle her head. In her other was the lantern; in the panic she didn’t realize she took it with her, and maybe that was for the better.

She leaned against the wall, with it only then hitting her that her crush was pressed up against her, actively seeking her out. Between that and the grizzly sights, Stef was shocked into an entire body lockdown. “It’s okay,” she mumbled, fingers brushing through curly red hair. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“ _Oh my god I think I nearly had a heart attack!_ ” Andy pulled away for a moment before leaning back against her, face pressed into the crook of Andy’s neck.

“I know—so I did, it’s okay, there’s nothing to worry about--”

“ _No, you don’t understand, I--_ ”

“ _Don’t be afraid_ ,” Stef managed a firm, confident tone.

Andy glanced up at her, continuing her unintelligible rant about friends at school and her life and everything she was going to miss out on, on account of her supposed death. It was a lot, and she crumbled back in on her best friend, hugging her tight as if letting go meant she was going to be swept away. It continued like this, a stupid cycle of panic and loss, and Stef cradled the back of her head.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Just calm down.”

“Are you sure?”

Their eyes met and Stef’s voice shook. “I’m positive. I’m positive.”

Andy finally calmed down, her voice dropping to a sad, worried whimper. “How are we going to get out?”

With her this close, with the lantern light, Stef could make out everything: matted, dirty hair; the tears streaming down her cheeks; how red her eyes were from her massive panic attack. Stef only wanted to protect her. She had every right to kiss her right then and there, her lips looking soft and warm.

She did not.

All she could do was pull her close again and hug her, to keep her company until the fear subsided. Stef stared up at the cave walls, fumbling a hand up to shove another piece of gum in her mouth. She could have had worse habits with her stress, really, and so she chewed hard, every gnash of teeth down outputting all her internal screaming and dialogue in physical form. Better to focus on the taste of strawberry in her mouth instead of how stupid the situation was or how nice Andy felt pressed against her.

Everything felt hopeless. A short figure darted past her, and she lifted the lantern, pretending not to be so conflicted.

“Hey Data, where are you going?” Andy said, finally pulling away.

“I’m setting booty traps,” he replied, firecrackers in his arms.

Stef raised an eyebrow. “You mean booby traps.”

“ _That’s what I said_ , booby traps!” He shushed them and scurried away, muttering to himself.

Andy shook her head and leaned back against Stef, who sighed and wrapped an arm around her.

“Thanks,” she warbled. “I’m… I’m gonna be okay, you’re right.”

Stef offered a friendly bump of the hips. “Things will work out.”

“You’re right, I just--” she gulped down tired tears. “I have to be calm. I’ll be okay, I have you.”

Stef’s heart swelled and a tiny smile swept across her face. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, you do.” Finally, something was going her way. Was this a change of pace for the better?

Something in the direction of the previous cavern clattered around. Mikey shouted back their way, “Don’t move! Freeze!”

Finishing laying down his trap, Data snapped his head up, and then glanced skywards, gesturing wildly. Danging above their heads the whole time was a set of massive stone pillars, which all swung around wildly, threatening to fall at any moment. The whole place had been rigged from the start.

Stef called out for Data, who stood there, stunned in place. He only started moving when the first rock slammed down to the ground, echoing out around them; he scrambled out of the way, swearing loudly as he made his escape.

With him in arm’s length, Andy pulled away and pushed Stef forward, who ran as fast as her legs could carry her. To her relief, an alcove of rocks sat in the end of the tunnel, and arms of people already tucked away inside waved wildly for them to hurry. Her own arm clipped the edge of the rocky wall and she dropped the lantern. She was too busy fleeing to really care about that though, and she practically jumped up and into the large crack in the stone.

It was too early to call it safe though, because Mikey thought the best course of action was to drop back down and save the lantern. Her hand shot forward to pull him back, as did everyone else, but it was for naught.

That kid was a damn goner.

Or so she thought, but he popped back up, banged up lantern in hand. Everyone yanked him in and Stef took back the lantern, ducking her head as the last boulder slammed down, ears ringing from the sound of stone against stone. She winced and huddled up with the Goonies, relief painfully shooting through her body, adrenaline still pumping in her veins.

Maybe they really were going to die. Maybe all that stuff she just told Andy was one big lie.

“Wait, listen,” Brand said, not even taking a second to catch his breath. “Sounds like somebody’s down there.”

Wiping his nose, he crawled to a rock a foot away, leaning against the wall. Stef raised the lantern hesitantly to provide much needed light while he shushed everyone (despite nobody talking) and pressed an ear close.

“Maybe it’s a way out,” Andy hoped.

“Maybe it’s the Fratellis,” Stef doubted.

“Maybe Chunk found the police,” Data wished.

“Maybe it’s another one of Willy’s booby traps,” Mouth suspected.

With a loud grunt, Brand started shoving the rock away. The uncertainty of it all caught up to Stef, who shakily pleaded out. “Brand, God put that rock there for a purpose and, um, I’m not so you should, um, move it… or anything...”

A familiar hand brushed against hers and she exhaled shakily.

Her fingers sought out Andy’s, and then all she could hear was ghastly shrieking as her face was assaulted by something winged and furry. Of course, realizing they were bats, she joined in and started screaming as well, trying to wave them away. If she wasn’t going to die from being shot by Italian mobsters or being crushed by traps set centuries ago by pirates, then she was going to die via rabies; it was all she could think of, and then some even after the bats fluttered around one last time and continued on their way.

Stef felt like she was going to puke. Everything spun, her head was dizzy; being pushed down into the lower cavern didn’t help her vertigo and she stumbled along, trying to regain some semblance of consciousness. Andy’s hand was long gone and so was the lantern… not that she would have been able to hold onto either while tripping through the dark. The only things guiding her along was the portable light and the gaggle of Goonies she was grouped up with.

Leaning against a wall to catch her breath, she heard Mikey and Andy exclaim loudly and hurry forward. “You guys, look! It’s a beautiful waterfall!” He exclaimed, dragging everyone ahead by virtue of being the one holding their only light source.

Her ability to hear finally came back and indeed there was a waterfall. If it wasn’t the sound that tipped her off, it was the fact that water streamed down from above right in front of her face, a sight that lifted her soul and hopes. No booby traps, no death waiting around the corner. Fresh hit her nostrils too and honest to god light filtered down from above. Was there finally a way out? Was the night finally over?

Stef squinted as the light shone off the water...or, rather, something _in_ the water. _Coins_ , probably pirate doubloons from centuries ago. It was real. One Eyed Willy’s treasure was _real_ and the hike through hell was finally worth it.

The boys passed under the waterfall and slid into the water, rushing to claim their treasure. Someone bumped up behind her; it was Andy, whose smile practically shone through the dark as well. “We’re rich, I don’t believe it!” She exclaimed, hopping down into the shallow lagoon.

Stef followed, the water against her feet and legs a welcome and relaxing change. She had half a mind to dunk her head into the water to get all the dust and bat crap out of her hair. Her Converse were going to be entirely ruined by the time they escaped, but, frankly, with whatever lay around the room, she could probably afford those same shoes for her entire life.

Needless to say, the waterfall _was_ spectacular, and probably was more spectacular with better eyesight. Even without all the gold around them, it was a relieving way to cap off the evening, and she found hope once again that they would discover a way out.

...she was a bit curious though, and so she knelt down and scooped up a hand of the rich stuff: coins, in silver and copper… maybe gold? The light made it hard to tell. Either way, Stef laughed. It _really_ was real. She held it close to inspect the details and inscriptions which Data inquired for the year of their beloved treasure map.

She couldn’t make anything out, so Mouth checked them. “Oh, I dunno. Probably a couple hundred years before...” Mouth peered close at one of his own coins. “President Lincoln.”

That made no sense. Stef leaned forward to look at the next coin the snot-nosed punk held up.

“George Washington...” He picked another. “Um, Martin Sheen?”

“ _Martin Sheen?_ ” Stef plucked it out of his hands, finally able to get a close look. It was indeed another president, the thin edge of a portrait glancing moonlight. “That’s President Kennedy, you _idiot_!” Jackass always had to make _some_ stupid pop culture joke, even at the expense of everything and everyone around him. She glared daggers at him, shoving him back a little.

Mouth roared back. “Well, same difference! I mean, he played Kennedy once!”

“Oh that’s really smart, I’m glad to know you’re using _your brain_.”

“Yeah well, at least I have a brain!”

“So stupid, Mouth!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

It had turned into a duel of the loudest, and her anxieties were spiraling down again. If this was a bunch of modern change and not pirate doubloons, what was the point? Even if they collected everything, it’d only amount to twenty bucks. Chump change, in comparison to precious jewels.

Stef could hear Mouth start to banter back, but she barked out, “Shut up!”

Chump change. Change. Presidents on coins. Coins in water, water, waterfall--

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” she called out. “This isn’t gold. This is a wishing well!”

Sure enough, Brand was climbing up the slippery rocks, investigating where the moonlight was coming from. It was indeed a wishing well, specifically the old Moss Garden Wishing Well a short walk away from the Astoria Country Club. That was their ticket out, if they could climb up the moss-covered shaft.. It was a lucky break that they had been this close to civilization this whole time, and they’d be able to call home and get rides in no time at all.

Andy sighed wistfully. “You know, I always used to believe that when you threw your money in, it turned into your wish.”

“Yeah, me too,” Stef mumbled. She dropped her handful of coins down into the water, letting them wash away for good. Taking this wasn’t worth it, nor was it going to be good karma.

Data and Mikey loudly discussed how they were going to split and carry off all their precious loot. When it grew to exasperated bickering, Stef stepped forward, breaking up the two. “Wait wait wait, stop, stop. You guys can’t do this.”

“Why?” Both asked, glancing up at her in confusion.

“Because these are somebody else’s wishes. They’re somebody else’s dreams.”

The two boys guiltily glanced between each other.

“Yeah, but you know what?” Mouth grunted in annoyance. Stef had to forcibly keep from rolling her eyes at him. He produced a nickel, “This one. This one right here. This was _my_ dream, _my wish_. And it didn’t come true. So I’m taking it back. I’m taking them all back.” He turned and sunk down under the water, gathering up every coin he could manage.

Stef pursed her lips and didn’t bother to stop him. For once, she found herself sympathizing with him. Sure, she didn’t agree with Mouth, but the truth loomed over everyone like the pillars of rock from earlier. The Goon Docks were going to be bought out, and they’d be no more.

...funny, she never really considered herself a Goonie, but here she was, tricked into believing to be one of them.

Something plinked down through the opening at the top of the well and splashed into the lagoon. It dragged Stef out of her thoughts, , she moved to investigate. Data carefully crept atop the rock formation and peered up, brushing aside hanging moss. A voice echoed down, a voice that she unfortunately recognized.

“It’s Troy—hey guys it’s Troy!”

Everyone started yelling and she didn’t bother to join in. Was she happy to escape out of cave hell? Sure. But did it really have to be by the virtue of this asshole?

“Andy! Is that you?!” Of course that was Troy’s only concern.

She yelled out to him. “Yeah Troy, it’s me! We’re stuck down here, please send down the bucket and the rope!”

“ _What the hell are you doing at the bottom of a well?!_ ”

“ _Don’t ask me stupid questions, we’re stuck!_ ” Andy’s impatience grew by the second. “Just send down the bucket, _come on_!”

Stef could hear the creaking of an unoiled wench, and sure enough, the bucket was being lowered. One step closer to freedom… Brand pulled it down all the way, making sure it wasn’t going to go anywhere. Who knew if Troy would only help up Andy?

“Hey you guys, I’m the smallest, I want to go first, okay?” Data pleaded.

Brand rudely shooed him away. “Get outta there, I’m the oldest so I’ll call the shots. Andy goes first, I go second, Stef and Mikey go third, Data you go fourth.”

At least Brand bothered with her nickname. If Troy was in this situation, he certainly would have pulled himself out first. Even if it destroyed her to see Andy get close to him, Stef at least could accept and appreciate Brand for actually giving a damn about her.

“ _Chester Copperpot_!” Mikey screamed out to everyone. “Don’t you guys see?! Don’t you realize?!” He gripped at his pirate treasure map nervously. So close to fresh air and a warm bed in Stef’s safe home… but here was Mikey, that twinkle of adventure in his eyes. “He was a pro! He never made it this far. Look how far we’ve come! We’ve got a chance.”

Andy’s voice shrilled in panic. “Chance at _what_ Mikey, getting killed? Look, if we keep going, someone’s really gonna get hurt… maybe dead.” She futzed with the rope in her hands, “Besides, we gotta get to the police.”

“Maybe Chunk already got to the police,” the younger Walsh questioned.

“ _Maybe Chunk is dead!_ ”

“ _Don’t say that_! Never say that! _Goonies never say ‘die’_!”

Andy shook her head sadly. “I’m not a Goonie. I wanna go home.”

Neither was Stef. And yet… she lived in the Goon Docks. She’s spent her whole life there, getting arm-deep in fish guts and pulling dead crabs from massive vats of her family’s daily catch. The Goonies were all outcasts from the rich families on the hillside, herself included.

She was an outcast for other reasons, of which nobody knew about.

Maybe she really had been a Goonie this whole time.

As Andy prepped to be pulled up to the surface, Mikey continued. “Don’t you realize? Next time you see sky… it’ll be over another town. The next time you take a test? It’ll be in some other school.”

Stef swallowed hard. She’d been trying not to think about this for weeks. A lump formed in her throat as Mikey laid out the harsh truth.

“Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now they got to do what’s right for them, because it’s their time. _Their time,_ up there… Down here, it’s our time, it’s _our time_ down here. That’s all over the second we ride up _Troy’s bucket_.”

It was true. Tonight was meant to be _her time_ with Andy. Plans obviously had gone awry, their lives endangered multiple times, but… it was all true. Give it up for a thirteen year old to be the one to smack her back into reality.

Stef was speechless. She glanced up at everyone, mostly the self-appointed leader who had been outclassed by his little brother. Even he had nothing to say, and so he turned to Andy. It was all on her, apparently, it was her choice. Troy’s bucket or one last hurrah?

With all the weight on her shoulders, Andy looked rightfully unsure of herself. But with a glance skywards, she hesitantly stepped out of the bucket. Stef watched her ditch the yellow country club jacket and hang it down on the bucket. In utter disbelief, an adoring smile crept across her face, and she practically fell in love with her all over again on the spot.

Without saying a word, they all climbed down from the rock formation and out of the water, away from Troy’s eyes. The decision had been made. His voice echoed down through the cave, a loud “ _You Goonie!_ ” of betrayal. A few minutes ago, Andy hadn’t been a Goonie. Now? She was one by choice.

Stef hung back against a wall, folding her arms, watching from afar as Mikey started what looked like a ritual. The Goonies vowing ceremony, as she came to discover, which involved raising a hand and repeating a mantra after the leader:

“ _I will never betray my Goon Dock friends, we will stick together until the whole world ends. Through heaven and hell, through nuclear war, good pals like us will stick like tar. In the city or the country, or the forest or the boonies, I am proudly declared a fellow Goonie._ ”

He slapped his hand up against her a few times, a weird cryptic handshake to cap off the whole thing before stepping back and frowning. “Well, usually it ends with us dunking you off the docks and into the ocean but, um...”

Andy walked over and stuck her head underneath the waterfall, her hair flipping back cinematically when she was done. “How’s that?”

“Yeah sure, that works,” he laughed. “Hey Stef!”

Stef stumbled in place, caught off guard from watching Andy. She wiped at her nose, “Uh, yeah. Yeah, what’s up?”

“You’re one of us now too. You wanna take your vows?”

Mouth grumbled, but Stef just offered a sly grin. “Nah. Don’t need to be initiated into what I already am.”

Data threw his arms into the air. “Goonies! We’re all Goonies!”

Arms pulled Stef forward and, before she could protest, her head was shoved under the water. She cried out and flailed her arms, “Hey! No, lemme go!” She relented when she hear her assailant giggle loudly.

“I did it too! You don’t get to skip out,” Andy sang.

She sighed and relented. The back of her head got soaked, water dripping down under her jacket, seeping up against her scarf and the collar of her white long sleeve shirt. Finally, Andy’s hand pulled off and she gasped, standing up and shaking her hair around.

A lone Brand finally spoke up from a corner of the cave. “Adorable. Now, we’re still trapped down here. Any ideas, geniuses?”

“Let’s check the map,” Mouth said, leading the other two boys back out into the water.

Andy drew over to her crush. “Do I need to stick you under the water like that too?”

“Nah, they already put me through it. _Once_ ,” he assured. “Little brats tricked me. Data knelt down behind her and the other two pushed.”

She chuckled. “But you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

“...yeah, I guess I am.”

Stef crinkled her nose. She wandered over and stood against this wall so that she wasn’t awkwardly watching from across the area. Instead, she watched the boys tiredly, hoping that they would find the next part of the path soon. They poured over the map, flipping it back and forth, trying to make sense of anything written on there. For once she was glad Mouth was around, otherwise nobody would be able to translate the pirate code.

A head laid against her arm. She almost extended it out to wrap an arm around it, but was very glad she didn’t when she looked down to see Brand trying to cuddle up with her. Stef tried not to glare, but it was late and she was losing patience with everyone. He met her eyes and quickly angled away and to the other side of the rock, where Andy was.

Welp, Stef rolled her eyes and finally let them shut. Her eyelids felt so heavy and she was having a hell of a time trying to keep them open. Brand started whining about his brother being so adventurous, wishing for a little sister instead, and she could not sympathize any less. Sure, the adventure was exhausting and she longed for even a sleeping bag in this damp cavern, but it was hard to take his side when he was pressed up against Andy.

She crinkled her nose again and tried not to think about it.

Someone screamed out. She jumped up and opened her eyes. In the distance, Mikey was messing with a hole in the wall, but that’s not what she focused on. There was a horrible grinding noise from above, the sound of metal on metal.

“What the _hell_ is _that_?” She squinted as hard as she could and turned to see the blur of a ball rolling down some kind of rail system.

Another booby trap, one she wished maybe would happen sooner than later. The uncertainty of what that ball was meant to do raised her heart into her throat and she froze in place. Should she get against the wall? Should she stay _away_ from the wall? Were spikes going to come out of the floor? Was water going to start to flood in and drown them all?

She got her answer when the noise stopped and Data _vanished_ out of view. Andy screamed out for him, and his own screams reverberated off of the walls, getting further and further away. Stef sped over to find the pitfall that had activated, cringing loudly, knowing that he was surely dead.

“ _Oh no, don’t be dead_!” Andy shouted out after him.

“Oh god, he’s _gone_ ,” Mikey cried, covering his eyes, leaning against his brother.

Everyone yelled down into the tunnel, hoping for the best.

“...you guys!” A voice called out from below. “I’ve been saved by my Pinchers of Peril!”

Relief hit them as fast as the grief did, with much sniffling and laughter. Even Mouth had tears streaming down his face.

“I’m in another room! You guys, there’s another room down here!”

“Another room? What’s down there?” Mikey leaned forward into the hole, with his brother having to reel him in to make sure he didn’t also tumble down.

“Yeah! Spikes, very dangerous! I have rope, hold on!”

Within a few minutes and a few attempts with that trusty chattering teeth toy, he managed to fire them a line of rope. Brand took it, glancing between everyone before saying something about being in Boy Scouts and trying to remember how to tie knots. Watching him sit there and struggle with it, though, Stef stepped over and took it, and quickly gave it a bowline against a sturdy rock

He offered her a raised eyebrow. “Shoulda said something.”

“Yeah, well,” she chewed at the inside of her mouth, no time for gum. “Smelling like fish half the time is good for some things.”

She was the first one down into the cave, after giving Brand some tips on keeping the knot tight. Stef landed down in the cave, entirely winded from the climb down. Even having spent extended time on a fishing boat, lifting your entire body, especially while already mentally and physically exhausted, was quite the workout.

Mikey and Mouth followed, both giving Data a great big hug, ecstatic to see their friend alive.

Andy finally came down after a few moments. At first, Stef feared for the worst, that she and Brand may have had a Moment, but it was clear that she was hesitant about sliding down a pit with honest-to-god spikes at the bottom. Slowly but surely, she descended, letting out a held breath as her feet touched ground again.

“I’ll never complain about pull-ups ever again,” she shuddered.

Stef laughed and gave a quick hug as Brand finally slid down using his red bandana as a makeshift sling. He stared at it, before stuffing it in his hoodie pocket. “Ah, shoulda thought to use this before. Whoops.”

They were all regrouped in one big room, with three corridors leading to the left, to the right, and one dead straight. Stef and everyone looked expectantly to Mikey, who stretched his head and stepped away to check One-Eyed Willy’s map.

Stef sat against, surprise surprise, a rock, resting her head against a fist. Fatigue was catching up to her, and wet hair in stale cave air wasn’t the most comfortable thing. She let everyone glance down the additional corridors, holding one of their two laps close by.

“Pee break,” Mikey wheeled around, folding back up the map. “Who’s gotta go?”

Stef raised her hand and so did everyone else – for whatever reason Brand seemed sheepish about it.

“Okay then,” the younger Walsh stepped forwards, pointing to the left cave. “This is the little boy’s room--” and pointed to the rightmost one “--and that tunnel’s the little girl’s room.”

Stef grabbed the lantern and ducked into the Little Girl’s Room, getting that out of the way.

Andy bounded over, done as well; Stef barely was able to make out the playful little smirk on her face.

“What?” She asked when the redhead giggled.

“This is it, Stef.” Her face glowed with confidence. “I know what I’m going to do.”

“Do… do what?”

“I’m going to kiss Brand.”

Ah. Stef’s grip on the lantern tightened. “You can’t be serious. We keep getting soaked, we keep hitting booby traps, _Data nearly died_ , _you can’t be serious_.”

“Oh, but I am. I’m going to call him in here and, in the dark, I’m going to finally kiss him.”

She closed her eyes, unable to believe this was happening. She was going to have to be witness to this, even in proximity, because she sure as hell was not going to stick around to watch. Stef bit her lip. “Andy-- Andy, this is not the time nor the place for this.”

Andy nodded at her. “Believe me, I know what I’m doing.” Stef muttered under her breath and shook her head while Andy called out Brand’s name loudly.

Bile rose to her throat and that was enough. The blonde stumbled out with the lantern and left her crush to do her bullshit. Back out in the main area, she parked up against a wall, and thought about school, thought about fish guts, thought about _Mouth_ , anything other than Andrea fucking Carmichael kissing Brandon Walsh.

She told herself she wasn’t going to cry while wiping up tears that formed. Andy called out his name again, and pain shot through her body. She found a better distraction than trying to stop the thoughts herself: banging her head up against the stone she leaned against. A concussion would be much more effective than repeating the words “don’t think of them kissing” under her breath.

“Uh.”

Stef’s eyes snapped open and she rubbed at her nose. “What? What?”

It was Mikey, standing there, confusion washed over his face. “Stef, are you okay..?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just fine. What’s up.”

He pointed to the Little Girl’s Room. “Brand wanted me to check on Andy, but…” He bowed his head sheepishly. “Could you make sure she’s okay?”

Stef rose slowly, leaving the lantern. “Yeah.” She watched Mikey walk back over to the rest of the Goonies, before swallowing hard and heading back from whence she came. Of course this would happen.

She stumbled forward, a hand out to guide her way. Mixed with a lack of proper eyesight, the inky blackness made it impossible for her to find Andy. Last she heard, the cheerleader had called from the right, but she wasn’t even certain which way was right anymore. She didn’t dare raise her voice; not only did she not want to betray the croak in her voice, she didn’t want to ruin the moment for Andy either.

Coming to a stop, she scrunched up her face and took a second to take in the situation. The girl she had feelings for was expecting the boy she had feelings for. It felt like something out of a cheesy romance comedy, if Hollywood actually made movies about gay people that weren’t exploitative.

Distracted, a hand swiveled Stef around, and she opened her mouth to stop Andy. She found herself forgetting how to speak, though, when both hands came to her shirt collar, the feeling of being yanked in like that practically knocking her off her feet. Hot breath approached her mouth and, instead of alerting Andy, instead of warning that she was making a mistake, Stef closed her eyes, tilting her head just right for their lips to connect.

The thoughts from before were entirely gone. Stef was utterly lost in the moment, clumsily returning the kiss. Andy’s lips were as soft as she always imagined they could be, traces of lip gloss still there after all the danger they had been through.

They curled up into a smile and Stef was pulled forward, guided over to be against the wall, her jacket collar still in Andy’s fists. She was careful not to make any noise or reveal who she was, otherwise ruining the night and the friendship and probably her entire existence. Still, her best friend’s eagerness was contagious, and it took all sense of self control to not push her luck.

And just as fast as it had started, it ended. A hand pushed above Stef’s chest and she stumbled back, out of breath.

“Get out of here,” Andy hummed.

Stef didn’t stick around. She made her way out and back where she was, lantern loyally waiting for her. She gathered that up and sat down to reflect.

Post-kiss was… an interesting state to be in. For once she wasn’t overthinking anything, her mind was a total blank. There was no reaction to give, because she truly had no idea how to react. She should be whooping and hollering, she should be embarrassed and blushing, she should be panicking and freaking out… but she had no internal monologue. It probably helped that she was the lone person out here; nobody was around to watch her puzzled reaction and put two and two together.

“ _Psst!_ Stef!”

...until now. Wiping at her mouth to hide the glittery lip balm, Stef slowly looked over to see Andy smiling wide and gesturing for her to unknowingly come back in. Bringing the lantern this time, she wasn’t nearly tripping over every step. Andy sat against a wall, and Stef took the spot across from her, unable to stare anywhere else but at her soft, warm lips.

“Okay,” she swallowed. “You kissed. Now tell.”

Andy brought a thoughtful finger to her chin, eyes half-lidded as she recalled everything. “It’s… hard to place,” she shook her head. “It wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Stef chewed at her lip. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. They were… delicate and sweet and caring. Oh, but he’s so rugged...”

“But did you like it?”

“Yes! Of course I did!” She smiled and closed her eyes, “It was like I was on the moon, like I was floating off of the ground.”

 _There_ was the blushing, finally. It crept across Stef’s cheeks and nose, and she had to lower the lantern so her best friend couldn’t see it. “Good, good. I’m… I’m glad you liked the kiss.”

Andy turned to leave, and Stef followed, whose giddiness was finally catching up to her. She kissed her. She was the one to kiss Andy. Not only that, _she liked it_. She had no idea it was her, but Andy _liked the kiss_.

It occurred to her that she ought to tell her it wasn’t Brand, but she could do that, preferably in a more private setting, so nobody would have to witness Stef come out of the closet.

Andy beelined for Brand, though, which soured the mood. She should have seen that coming, after all, but like hell that was going to ruin her big moment.

“What, are you crazy? They're _here!_ ”

Stef snapped her head up to see a thin beam of light shining down from their rope entrance. The Fratellis.

Mikey, Mouth, and Data scurried over and, frankly, so did she. Down the middle tunnel they hurried. In the rush, Data had stolen the lantern, and her hands felt wholly empty and useless. Luckily for her, Andy reached back and took her hand, which she happily followed after. Desperation surged through her veins and she hoped to god that this wasn’t a dead end.

They all halted to a stop, the sound of rushing water nearby, louder and stronger than the wishing well waterfall.

“ _Jerk alert!_ ” Mouth shouted out and pushed from the caboose of the Goonie train.

Stef’s high-tops came down on something that definitely was not stone and was absolutely slippery. There was a waterfall, two in fact: one rushing underneath, the other pouring out a foot from her head. No time to be bothered by them though, she started climbing across what seemed to be an old ship mast, probably rotting away from the water. One wrong step and she began slipping to the side, her life flashing before her eyes. If she wasn’t going to be killed by the Italian mobsters, she was going to die falling down a rocky waterfall.

She managed to right herself and kept moving forward, head down, leaning forward to try and keep balance. She tried to think of anything else, perhaps of the kiss she just had, but the urgency was too much. When a foot came to hard stone, she kicked off as hard as she could and practically jumped to higher, safe ground. She spun around, thinking she could see anything on the other side, but alas it was a brown and black blur.

Something yellow appeared in the blob of darkness… the flashlight the Fratellis carried.

She cried out, stepping back. “ _Somebody’s coming!_ ”

Everyone pulled up to the edge, climbing across wet rock. One lone boy was on the makeshift bridge though. Andy and Mikey shouted out for him, Data apparently, and Stef reached forward to try and keep anyone from foolishly retreating to retrieve him.

“I got a great idea, you guys,” Data announced triumphantly. “Slick Shoes!”

“ _Slick Shoes? Are you crazy?!_ ”

He stood there, pulling at the contraption on his chest, letting whatever do its work. He still wasn’t moving through, even as the light drew closer, breaching the tunnel’s darkness. Everyone clamored and yelled for him to finish up. He slowly drew closer, arms out, leaning back and forth carefully.

“Hi fellas, remember me?” A man’s voice. Stef recognized it: one of the Fratelli brothers.

Data finally reached the group; she turned and started leading away, up a hill of rocks. Stubbing her toe for about the tenth time that night, she nearly fell forward and just about slammed her jaw against the ground. Hands caught her though, and she had no choice but to keep moving. Two gunshots sounded off and she screamed.

Panic properly set in and she scrambled away, muttering “oh my god” over and over. Flinching past a large spiderweb, she wrestled her way through and into an entirely dark chamber. She should have held onto that lamp, _she should have held onto that lamp_. Voices came up from the rear: the rest of the Goonies, to her relief. Andy called out for a light, and they worked to light up a set of candles from Data’s pack.

Stef hung onto somebody’s arm, wishing she had the moment to get gum in her mouth. The soft glow of stray flame set on her buddy’s face, who shot her a scared look. Andy, naturally – she should have known from her height.

Her stomach churned. She couldn’t stand to see her like this, she couldn’t stand to know that they were both going to be killed in cold blood by a group of jailbroke mobsters. This was not the way she imagined spending her entire life with her best friend, as skeletons in decrepit pirate caves. If she was stronger, she could have gone out to fight back, to bid them some time or get that damn gun away, but she was not. Brand was, but she was not.

Brand… the thought of Brand flipped her emotional state on its head and guilt flooded through her. Andy deserves to know it wasn’t a boy she kissed. She deserved to know everything.

Stef yanked her away, stealing a glance back in case she was too late and the Fratellis were here. They could spare a few feet away from the others, but they were too busy dealing with candles and advancing criminals to watch.

“Stef, what are you doing?” Andy pleaded.

She shook her head, running a hand through it. “I need—I need to tell you something. And, Andy, I need you to not freak out, okay? I’m going to just say it. I w--”

The redhead glanced away, jaw dropping. Stef’s sentence hung in the air and she turned, hoping it wasn’t the barrel of a pistol she was going to come face to face with. Frankly, it was worse than that, and she was too disgusted and shocked to fight back as Andy led her closer.

Standing in this room all along was what looked like an organ. It was no ordinary organ, though, as it seemed to be made entirely of grotesque, splintered, real, _very real_ bones. A full was fixed to it as the centerpiece, arms wide as if gesturing to itself, begging to be played. Rib cages and shin bones and other pieces of what could be assumed to be ex-pirates were tied together with fibers that had been decaying for decades. It felt like the whole thing would collapse any moment now.

Back out with the waterfall, what sounded like rushing water drowned out everyone’s exclamations. Hopefully it drowned out the Fratellis too, or at least slowed them down.

It was obvious that their next move was to interact with the organ in some regard, and so Mikey drew out the map and scanned it. Finding something in Spanish, he shoved it into Mouth’s arms, who was speechless for once.

He licked his lips and started to nervously translate. “To move on, play the tune... as each note is said,” he trembled, taking dramatic pauses between each line, which just set Stef on edge even more. “If... you make... too many mistakes… ye will surely be...”

He stopped.

“What?” She hissed.

“Be what?” Andy hesitantly asked.

“... _muerto_ ,” he answered.

Stef slapped his shoulder, “What is that? C’mon!”

Mouth gulped. “ _Dead_.”

Immediate regret. She winced and ran a hand through her hair, holding back a nuclear meltdown. This was the end of the line, it seemed. Data ran up and joined the group, shouting about the Fratellis still on the bridge. Stef pulled him close without thought and stared back up the skeleton. It stared back; in the moment, she could swear that it was smiling and laughing at them, enjoying their mass panic.

“You guys, look!” Mikey had flipped the map over and was tapping the edge of it. “There are notes on this!”

Stef’s head snapped up and she gasped, looking for her best friend. “Andy! Andy, you took piano lessons!”

Andy was clearly overwhelmed, glancing around every which way and then to the organ, which she was pushed towards by the boys. Live fingers hovered over dead ones, and she shook her head. “I was four years old,” she mumbled.

“You wanna live to be seventeen?!” Mouth urged. “Hit it!”

Stef shot him a glance and then took the spot next to her friend. It was do or die, frankly, and either they were going to play this melody right or be killed by a booby trap _or_ a bunch of angry Italians.

“I’m trying to find middle C. This is nothing like my mother’s Steinway,” Andy warbled.

Data was having none of it. “ _Do something! Hurry!_ ”

“ _Okay!_ Um,” she took a deep breath. “the first chord, I _think_ \--” she stole a glance to Stef “--is...”

Her right hand moved into place, gliding over the keys. They shook, and then she pressed down. Stef shut her eyes and waited, and heard a triumphant sounding chord echo out loudly. Something groaned and shifted behind her, and a thin stone drawbridge begin to lower from the wall. _There was a way out_.

“My god, it’s working!” Brand held their last lantern up towards it. “It’s working, you did it!”

Confidence beamed across Andy’s face. “It’s all coming back to me now!” Pausing to gain her composure, she leaned in and tried to read the supposed sheet music (not that Stef could make it out from afar). “Um… A… C sharp, D.”

Mouth whined out as she lowered her hands down. “Remember those lessons and play it right, _please_!”

The next chord sounded out, a haunting dissonant one. Some foreign smoke shot out of the organ, from the keys, from the pipes, from everything. Something went wrong, something went wrong, and Mouth fell back, screaming in horror.

Hands shot out and snatched him by the jacket, including Stef’s. The floor had fallen away; underneath them all this time was a vast, foggy blue cave, with only god knows what down at the bottom. She pulled as hard as she could and, with everyone’s help, got Mouth back to his feet. His face drained of all its color and all he could do was gape.

“They’re coming guys! They’re down there!” Data screamed at them, having retreated to check on their pursuers. “They’re coming out! What should I do?!”

Andy freaked and turned back to the organ, trying to read the notes again. She was in a hurry, and Stef licked at her lips, readying to tell her to careful. But when the young inventor ran back in, she haphazardly gave another shot at the keys. Smoke spewed out again, another harsh sound, and this time, the right pit gave out.

Brand shouted out this time, and again, everyone came to his rescue, pulling him back in by his shoulders.

“ _What were you thinking?!_ ” Stef shouted out, immediately regretting it.

“I hit the wrong note! I’m not Liberace, you know!” The cheerleader was frazzled and infinitely guilty, and she turned to listen to Brand boost her morale back up.

Stef tried to focus, tried to calm herself down, but the fact of the matter was that she was probably two steps from death’s door. And as much as she loved Andy, she _really_ needed her to calm down and play the damn organ right. Yelling at her wasn’t going to help, but tensions were so high that she couldn’t focus.

“Andy, I believe in you, Goonies always make mistakes.” Mikey slowly told her, “Don’t make any more.”

She gave a curt nod, and put her fingers back down, muttering to herself about the notes, second-guessing herself over and over.

Mouth’s patience drew to an end. “ _Play it!_ ”

Finally, a proper sounding chord. Stef watched that drawbridge lower more, still too folded up to cross over. She laughed and nudged her head against Stef’s arm in respite, and gave her a side-hug. “You got this, Andy. _You know what you’re doing._ ”

“I—I guess I do! It’s like riding a bicycle, I guess!” Andy offered her a smile that honestly made her believe everything was going to be okay.

Someone barged their way up against behind her and Andy, and she leaned to the side away from the keys. The other girl did _not,_ though, and Stef was blasted in the face with smoke, coughing and waving it away.

The floor just below her heels quaked and then gave away; she was spared, but the boy who bumped into her was _not_. Data was falling for the second time that day. His death grip on Mikey didn’t stop the descent, who began tumbling back as well. Stef jumped to action quick, getting an arm around the younger Walsh while the older one reached down and caught Data. In sync, she and Brand got both of them back to their feet.

With everyone gathered around the organ, there was no wiggle room. Any steps back to get more comfortable led to a death chamber, and so Stef didn’t dare move. She had an elbow in her side and stood too close to Mouth for her own well-being, but it was either that or her own demise.

Andy shook like a leaf. “I can’t tell if it’s an A sharp or if it’s a B flat...”

“Heh. If you get the wrong note, we’ll all be flat.” Mikey anxiously chuckled.

Stef closed her eyes and found herself praying. She hadn’t been to a church in years. Both her parents were religious, she had been baptized and everything, but the business of average life got in the way of Sunday visits. It had been for the better, because when she came about to finding that girls made her feel really funny and that boys were a confusing mess, she figured that she wasn’t welcome anymore.

Maybe if she lived through this, she’d start going with her mom.

Maybe she’d tell them everything. They ought to know.

The last thing she would hear was beautiful, heavenly music…

She opened her eyes. Light flooded the room, illuminating everything. The drawbridge, it was all the way down. _They weren’t going to die_.

Stef leaned against Andy and gave her a tight hug, trying not to cry out of sweet relief. She only let go when her friend grabbed her jacket hood and yanked her over to their getaway. Tripping and rolling over into the new tunnel, her feet hit the ground, pushing off as hard as she possibly could. It was too close of a call to stop yet, and she only did when she literally ran into the boys. Water rushed close by, again; it was a sound she was getting _extremely_ sick of hearing.

“ _Andy_ ,” she cried out, turning around to watch her and Brand bring up the rear, looking bewildered at the others.

Brand barked an order and pointed, but she didn’t listen. She lunged for her best friend, but was denied the pleasure of hugging her after a near-death experience. A big meaty hand pushed her back by the forehead and she collapsed back.

Cold, violent water overtook her and she slipped down the tunnel, body twisting and flipping around. It wasn’t unlike a slide, oddly enough; sure enough, water running down a cavern for years and years would smooth it down. Not to say there weren’t rougher patches that scraped up against her arms and face, nor the razor-sharp walls that Stef had to fight against riding down against.

She spluttered, righting herself up just in time for the water to give out under her. She plunged down with a yelp into another pool, with no moment to catch her breath. Her eyes burned something awful – salt water. Her back sank down and collided with some surface, and she pivoted to kick off it and stand up.

Stef breached the water, coughing and choking loudly. Pushing her sopping wet hair back and out of the way, she took the moment to simply breathe. She was alive. She was alive, not dead by impaling on sharp rocks, not dead by gunfire from the Fratellis, not dead from slippery falls. Not dead.

Mouth popped up like a dolphin and immediately latched onto her, pulling her into a hug. She welcomed it, honestly glad he was safe. Someone else wormed into the hug, a redhead who embraced both of them tightly.

Stef squeezed her eyes shut, a pathetic sounding sigh escaping from her throat. “Are you okay Mouth? Andy, are you alright?”

Mouth nodded against her.

“Are you okay Stef?” Andy asked, squeezing her.

“Yeah, I’m alright, I’m okay.” She gasped again, “ _Oh my god, we’re okay_.”

They all stayed like that, and her head leaned against Andy’s, so glad, so relieved they were both okay. The cheerleader let go, and she attempted to follow, but Mouth stopped her.

“Oh my god,” he mumbled.

Stef spun around, squinting. “What, what?”

What she saw rendered her too amazed for words.

Floating across the inner-most sanctum, proudly even, was a massive pirate ship, intact after all of these years. It was a sight to behold; brine and barnacles had taken over its outer hull, but the masts and sails seemed wholly untouched. It wasn’t some child’s plaything either, it was an honest to god pirating ship from the 17th century.

The legends and stories Mikey had been spouting out the entire night had been true.

One-Eye Willy lived past his death, in this very cave.

Who knew what treasures awaited them? But did it matter? One way or another at this point, the Goon Docks _were_ going to be saved.

She wasn’t sure who threw up the first cheer, but quickly everyone flailed around, whooping and making all sorts of dumb excited noises. She reached out and hugged Andy, pulling her close and spinning her around in a victory dance.

Alive, Stef felt totally alive, like nothing could stop her. She laughed to herself when she decided that had nothing to be afraid of anymore. By the night was done, she was going to tell Andy about everything too. Her parents, Andy… Andy especially… they all deserved to know. Coming out didn’t seem nearly as scary as dealing with notorious criminals or death traps at this point.

She cupped her best friend’s face and opened her mouth. “I--”

Finally blinking the water from her eyes, she came face to face with Mouth, who was utterly bewildered and confused. He stared, she stared back. This was not Andy.

She shoved him down into the water and scanned the area for her best friend. Andy was in Brand’s arms, getting cozy with him as they waded through to the ship. She shook her head; no, this was not going to stop her. She was going to admit her feelings, she was going to be _confident_ and _sure of herself_.

Stef started trudging through the water. She called out for Andy, growing louder and louder when she didn’t notice her. Swearing, she leaned forward to start swimming after her, but stopped when something brushed against her thigh. She froze, then slowly glanced behind her. There was Mouth again, who stopped as well, still looking dazed and confused.

“What? What is it?” Mouth asked.

She glared, turned around, and started walking again. Not even a second later, there was the same sensation, this time lower. Stef whipped her head around, “Stop it Mouth!”

“What? What’s your problem?”

“Come on!” She rolled her eyes hard. Andy was so far ahead that she could only make her out from the bright sweater she wore.

The bullshit continued though, even higher this time, and Stef pivoted entirely to berate him. “I said _stop it!_ ”

Mouth shrugged. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything!”

“Don’t play dumb!”

He groaned and waded up behind her. “What was with that hug anyway? You have something you wanna _admit_?”

In a sense, it was the truth. But Stef fumed – not only was Andy way ahead, she was stuck in the back with this perverted clown. The hand on her ass was the last straw, and, without pause, she whirled around and slapped him as hard as she could.

“ _Shut up Mouth! I’m sick of this!_ ”

“ _Ow!_ What’d you hit me for?!”

“ _You are not my type!_ ”

“Oh yeah? What even _is_ your type, then?”

Stef opened her mouth to shout out that she was into women and not gross men like him. She strained to say it, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead her face turned completely red and she stared helplessly at Mouth, who pointed behind her at Andy, wide eyes.

“Yes,” she choked out. She was steps from crying, robbed of her big moment by this stupid dumbass. “Yeah, you got me.”

He kept pointing, and she slapped the hand down. “ _Cut it out! Why do you have to make a spectacle out of_ \--”

Stef whipped her head over to look at Andy in the distance, but instead she found herself staring at an honest-to-god giant octopus sitting there, blinking its bulbous eyes at the two of them. She screamed, stepping back in utter bewilderment. Something—a tentacle-like arm, she immediately realized was the actual culprit to all of this—wrapped around her leg and yanked her under the water.

Arms and hands wrestled with the cephalopod as it wrapped around her, holding her down in place as she accidentally swallowed the sea water. Completely trapped, Stef wriggled around, trying to get away from being drowned for a tasty snack. She was too tired to try to even compete with it, though, and tried to hold her breath as long as she could.

Someone swam down to meet her: Mouth. He yanked at the thing, pulled and twisted and even tried to bite at it, anything to get it to lessen its grip. The octopus raised its limbs, lifting Stef out of the air. Spitting out water everywhere, she only had the option of getting more breath or shouting for help – she impulsively did the latter, and was dunked back down with little to no oxygen.

She felt something collide with her. Tiredly looking up, she saw Mouth float and spiral in place. He started to get really fuzzy, as did the rest of her eyesight. Her arms, her legs, her head, everything felt _so heavy_.

Stef scrunched up her face and counted, focusing on anything but the burning pain in her throat. One… two… three…

Four, five…

Six…

Her head felt like it was going to explode, and she could have _sworn_ she heard muffled Talking Heads as she started to pass out.

It never came, though, as the arm around her midsection let go. Arms and legs waved around uselessly, and she was stranded below, too near unconsciousness to help herself. A human hand grabbed her by the wrist, and she kicked as hard as she could as she was pulled up and up, breaking the surface and spewing out what felt like an entire gallon of salt water.

Deep inhales through the nose were pained, and everything rattled as she tried to suck in steady air. The headache lingered, and she tried to shake off the lightheadedness.

“Holy Mackenzie, Stef, are you okay?” It was Mikey, hovering next to her.

She groaned aloud, and ran a hand through her hair shakily. “Ugh, I don’t want to want to see a squid or _anything_ for the next _month_.”

She oof’d aloud as someone practically tackled her. Stef was locked into a tight hug, one she had no hope of escaping at this point, not that she would ever do so. It was easy enough to who it, recognizing Andy within the second. She leaned in and nuzzled against her, trying to keep her gasps for breath casual.

Of course, Andy was a hysterical mess, crying and mumbling and everything that made her impossible to understand. All Stef could do was nod and let her cling on. “I’m okay, I’m okay...”

“ _You better be!_ The only way you’re leaving me is by moving!” Andy lifted her head and flashed a sad, relieved smile. As much it hurt to be reminded of leaving Astoria, Stef couldn’t help but agree that she preferred that over dying.

“Don’t you _dare_ die on me, Stephanie Steinbrenner,” Andy sniffed. “ _Don’t you dare!_ ”

“I won’t,” she mumbled in return. “ _I won’t._ ”

If Stef wasn’t winded and borderline delirious, she would have kissed her right then and there, a passionate spur-of-the-moment admittance of everything. Instead she stood there and let the redhead whimper and tighten the hug. They weren’t given the time of day to have a Moment, though, as three Goonies started to climb up the ship, scaling the handholds and netting. Time to get moving again, Andy wiped away her tears, flashed her a smile, and then ascended up with the others.

Stef watched her, body and heart aching. She stared at the space Andy once occupied, wondering how in the world she was going to tell her everything. Maybe she could find somewhere on the ship that’s quiet and the others wouldn’t think to look there, somewhere she could admit to not being straight and the fact that she’s in love with her.

“Oh.”

The voice made her jump, and she snapped back to the real world. It was Mouth, drenched from head to toe, looking like he had seen the secrets of the world.

“Stef, you...”

Ah. She straightened her posture, eyes flicking between the ship netting and him. There was no way around it, and she chose to stay back if not for a second more. “Take it or lose it, Mouth,” she stammered.

Mouth rubbed his arm, sheepish guilt washing over his face. He gestured to the side of the ship. He said no more on the matter, and Stef started climbing up. Despite having been here for century, the ropes felt sturdy in her gasp, and it was a relief to finally have something she could confidently say wasn’t going to fall apart on her. It probably wasn’t smart to be exerting herself after such a close call, but it was either make her way up shipwards or stay down for the octopus to come around again.

As Stef crawled up to the railing, she caught a glance of Brand and Andy together. It killed all her forward momentum, physically and emotionally, but her morale couldn’t stay down for long, because she was on a god damn pirate ship. Wood creaked under as she whipped herself over the top; it was an utter relief to be out of seawater, and she hoped that maybe soon she could change into warm clothes and get some proper rest.

The boat was _nothing_ like her father’s. The masts were gigantic, with ropes hanging down that waved just so slightly. Stef squinted and tried to piece together where the supposed breeze was coming from – they must be close to an exit out of here. Thick cobwebs coated everything, the ship lost to the ages, and she grimaced as she wiped her palms off. She noted not to touch anything before reaching out to appreciate a massive lead still knotted up on a pole.

The familiar sound of Data screaming and falling pulled Stef out of her nautical admiration. Everyone else scrambled over to the hole in the floor, marking where he once was. He sprawled out below, with what looked like a set of skeletons. Maybe they held the key to the treasure? Brand pointed out a staircase next to them, and she stepped down while Data complained loudly about them and falling and skeletons and practically everything that encountered that night. She couldn’t blame him though, as she stubbed her toe and almost slipped for nearly the tenth time.

Skeletons scattered across the slippery hardwood floor, Stef did her best to avoid them. Who knew if their mouths would fire out poison or if they would jump up and start trying to eat their brains?

Between the long-gone corpses and the soaked timber, the inside of the ship reeked. Stef scrunched up her nose as she investigated. Cannons and their ammo littered the area, as did assorted tables and chairs and so many empty bottles. This was probably a fully stocked bar or kitchen at some point, with all the old crewmen around.

Mikey unlodged a sword from a ribcage and waved it around, Andy watching nervously. Finally, she was away from Brand. It was now or never. Stef licked her lips and reached for a piece of gum but, alas, her entire pack was soaked from the lagoon – useless.

Without a crutch to help her through it, she crouched over and grabbed her by the arm. “Hey, c’mere,” she muttered, leading her away.

Andy followed, holding onto her as they made their descent to a lower level. Away from dripping water, it was dirty and grimy. Stef was grateful for how dry things were, getting sick of the squishing of water in her Nikes. Finally away from everyone else, she stopped, taking the time to glance around. Casks and bins were strewn about; this must have been a storage area before.

The blood in Stef’s veins froze as Andy rose a hand to her face. It cradled against it before fingers stretched back against her ear. “Oh no, you lost your earrings,” Andy said.

Stef scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head. “I—I don’t mind, that’s...” She swallowed back her insecurities and anxiety and fear and everything that began to bubble to the surface. “Andy, I wanted to tell you that--”

Footsteps behind her surprised her and she whirled around to watch the rest of the Goonies come in and disperse. Her mouth hung open, stupefied into silence as she was, yet again, cut off from admitting everything. The boys started to argue loudly about the whereabouts and existence of the treasure; meanwhile, Andy knelt down to look at something from off the floor.

This was, frankly, starting to get extremely stupid, and she winced, running a hand through her disgusting hair. Leaning against one of the casks, she covered her face and tried not to cry. She was exhausted beyond belief and her patience with everything was running thin. This ship was the place where dreams went to die, apparently.

Stef snapped her head up when she heard some sort of winch activating. There was Andy, standing there, cable in hand. Something began raising up into the air, pouring sand out of it – a makeshift counterbalance for whatever godawful mechanism it was a part of. Everything moved too quickly and something flipped down above the boys before she could move, scattering dust into the air.

Andy hurried over to them, “I’m sorry! Are you okay? Are you guys okay?”

They all coughed. Brand spat – gross - “Yeah, we’re--” He craned his next up, peering at what opened up.

As Stef stepped over, arms folded, she could barely make out gold glittering from the dark. Was it the gold? The rich stuff?”

“Mouth, Mouth,” Brand said, yanking him over. “What’s that say?”

He dusted off his hair and squinted skyward. He didn’t offer a translation for the supposed writing, and shot Mikey an eager look.

The younger Walsh gasped and jumped up on a nearby box. “It’s Willy,” he breathed, sticking his arms out. “It’s One-Eyed Willy!”

His older brother scooped him up and held him to the boards, instructing him to break through. Stef watched as Mikey banged a fist against them until just the right punch shot through. Planks clattered down to the floor; they had a way up into this hidden chamber. All together, including Stef, they pushed him up and through the new hole. Her arms were so sore, as was the rest of her body, and she bit back a cringe.

There was the sound of creaking hinges, and with one last shove, Mikey was up and through. He poked his head back down, eyes shining in the dim light.

“What’s up there?” Brand asked.

“It’s alright, Brand… just give me a second.” And with that, Mikey disappeared.

Stef swallowed back a lump in her throat. The treasure… was it there? She needed to know, she _had_ to know. Was this whole night worth it in the end? Were the Goon Docks saved from its golf course fate? She wiggled her toes, focused on her breathing, anything to keep her from jumping the gun and climbing up to check for herself.

Two whole minutes passed, and she couldn’t take it any longer. She glanced around at the others, the same impatient hunger in their eyes. All at once they nodded and started helping each other up the hatch; Stef was the third up, climbing up into a murky, shadowy room. She was careful not to put her hands down somewhere that would trigger some horrible booby trap, until something was shoved into them – a candlestick, her fingers identified. Mouth and Data helped to light it, as well as a few more they found. The two stragglers lifted up to meet them, and finally, they walked off to find Mikey.

They found him easily enough, standing at the head of a table. Skeletons sat at attention in the chairs accompanying it, and he spoke to one in specific.

Mikey stood up straight and spun around, sniffing and wiping his eyes. “Yo,” he mumbled. “Hi guys. How’s it going?” He nodded his head towards the corpse. “This is Willy. One-Eyed Willy.”

After a night’s worth of cavorting around in old cave systems, a night’s worth of avoiding trap after trap, it all led to this. There he was, not in the flesh, but in the bone, in eternal slumber, surviving all this time through sheer legends, bedtime stories, and museum displays.

“Say hi, Willy.”

One-Eyed Willy did not answer.

“Those are my friend, The Goonies,” Mikey continued. “...how long have you guys been standing there?”

“Long enough Mikey,” Brand said. “Long enough.”

Introductions out of the way, they finally set out to investigate. The main table had a set of candles on it, and so Stef helped light them. A glint of color caught her from the corner of her eye and they glanced down. As the room took on a soft glow, she froze as she finally managed to make out what it was.

Gold. Golden doubloons. Cut rubies and emeralds and sapphires. Necklaces and rings and all sorts of engraved jewelry. _Honest-to-god pirate treasure_.

Stunned into silence, all she found she could do was chew on her tongue. An odd giddiness slowly overtook her and Stef felt like she was about to overflow with relieved laughter. The surrealness of the whole thing made it feel for a moment like the octopus really had killed her and this was some afterlife. A hard, painful bite down on the inside of her cheek ruled that out quick.

Miked called out, “What are you staring at? Let’s go! Load up! Anything that can fit in your pockets!”

She didn’t have to be told twice.. but where to even _begin_? Stef reached out and started grabbing as many coins as possible. She filled up her jacket and pants pockets with gold and silver, as well as any gems she could get her hands on. As the table was cleared off, others discovered chests nearby entirely filled. One-Eyed Willy had so much loot it was hard to even comprehend.

Her pockets weighted down, and so she started grabbing every necklace and garland of shiny stuff, draping them over her shoulders and neck. Earrings? She grabbed a pair and stuck them on, taking the place of the ones she lost in the water. And where there was no more room, Stef started filling her back hood with whatever else she could muster to carry. Frankly, when the Fratellis showed up, she’d probably end up losing most of that, but--

Of course. The Fratellis. She had gotten so caught up with nearly drowning and the complete 180 that was finally discovering the lost treasure that she forgot they were being pursued.

She hurried over to Data and Mikey, jangling all the way. “Hey, c’mon you guys, hurry up! Those creeps are still after us!”

“That’s right! What are we going to do?” Andy worried.

Brand offered a shrug, still shoving doubloons away in his pants. “I don’t know. Who cares?”

Mikey offered up a quick solution. “I saw this on the Hardy Boys once! We can leave a trail of jewels into one cave and then we hide out in another! And when the Fratellis go into that cave, then we can make a run for it.”

“Now that sounds like a great idea!” An older voice called out.

Stef nearly spilled a handful of coins in surprise. This whole time across the room was a door that led outside. Swung open, standing in it, was the mother of the Fratelli brothers. She pointed a finger at the Goonies, but Stef knew that it was more than a threatening gesture in their direction, as orange light glanced off of metal in her grasp.

Mama Fratelli ordered, “ _Outside!_ ”

“Okay, _this is war_ ,” Data fumed, stomping away only to be pulled back in by the asthmatic. He and Mikey argued, with Stef watching all the while, dumbfounded that the youngest of the group was going to fight back. “We will not be taken alive, _matey_ ,” he exclaimed, before pulling away and scurrying off.

The rest of them shouted after him, trying to reel him back to safety. Data ducked out of reach, though, and stupidly ignored everyone shouting about the gun over and over. When that failed, they jogged out after him, with Stef only stopping to exchange a glance with Andy. From the candlelight and the jewelry she adorned herself with, she was bathed in a heavenly glow; it was a shame that Stef had no time to appreciate it and maybe offhandedly tell her she looked pretty.

Out on the deck she headed, keeping Andy close as she joined the others, who were all trying to hold Data back. He squirmed out of grasp, though, and advanced. “I know what I’m doing,” he frowned, readying his equipment.

As he pulled back his coat, a boxing glove shot out and punched himself in the face.

Stef had nothing but bewilderment on her face as he struggled to push it back into place. One of the criminal brothers, the shorter one with an obvious toupee, chortled at his misery.

“I’m all right, Data’s just unhappy,” he assured, before flinging his wrist out. His precious toy teeth flew away and latched onto that brother’s crotch with a loud _clack_.

Naturally, the bald Fratelli cried out in agony, and stupidly started trying to unclamp everything with an old rusted sword from the ship. The taller one tried to help, but they started bickering. How in the world were these notorious criminals?

Mama Fratelli aimed her gun at Data, who fired a suction cup from his belt at it. Sticking on really well, she pulled back, and the young inventor cried out as he inadvertently reeled himself in towards her, sliding against the wet floorboards. He stumbled up against her, and something heavy clanged down, and then even further down into the ship.

With the gun out of the picture, Mikey started to bumrush the Fratellis, just out of his brother’s reach. Stef watched him as he came face to face with a blade, freezing as the taller Italian loomed above, angling the weapon down at him. “All right, no more Mr. Nice Guy!”

Data cried out as he was pulled in by the mother, her own sword pressed against his neck. Everyone froze and watched, entirely helpless against a bunch of adults with weapons. They had none of their own; Data was the only one who carried anything helpful on him, but they were in no position to loot his backpack for his equipment.

Stef thought to fight back as she was pushed forward, but that would probably just end with old metal stuck straight through her stomach. Forced into a circle with her friends, the Fratellis ordered them to drop their loot. She hesitated, but immediately started dropping everything when she heard Andy loudly whined about one of them touching her hair. Blood boiled inside of her as she poured every gem and coin and piece of jewelry to the ground. She wasn’t even granted the ability to finish emptying her jacket herself, as her arms were pulled back behind her and her wrists tied up. The necklaces and even the earrings were pulled off of her and tossed to the big pile of loot.

She wiggled her hands around, attempting to break the rope loose any which way possible as stealthily as possible. The knot was tight, however, and it just burned against her skin the more she moved. It didn’t stop her from trying though, and she watched Mouth get slapped upside the head for trying to sneak out emeralds in his namesake, comically spitting them out.

She could get away, she could break free and find a sword and save everyone--

“You gross old witch!”

Andy, right in front of her, screamed out at Mama Fratelli, who wasn’t much happy with that. An arm shot from over Stef’s shoulder, aimed at her best friend; moving into action immediately, she pushed back as hard as she could, but it was for naught. The brother behind her yanked Andy back by the hair, and she screeched out in pain.

Stef was now between Andy and this gross guy, unable to move. She kept up the momentum though, wedging her shoulder up against his chin, trying to butt him back to get him away. She grunted, getting up to her tiptoes, straining to the sky to throw him off balance, hoping to get a headbutt in at the very top.

The game was all over when sharp metal glanced against her collar. Stef caught her breath and tried not to swallow. Any reckless decisions would end poorly, and so freezing in place was her best chance at getting away alive. In the madness of it all, she didn’t notice Andy slip away until it was too late.

She licked her lips and shakily called out, “Andy.”

The Fratelli dragged Stef around to the Goonies, still holding the sword there. Even without glasses, she was able to see Andy being poked along by the mother, off towards the side of the ship. Her hands were still bound together, unable to fight back.

“ _Andy_ ,” she called out again, sparing a chance and leaning against the blade – old and worn down, it luckily had a bit of give. “ _Andy, no_.”

The redhead walked past the edge, onto a thin plank hovering precariously over the water. It was obvious what was coming, and Stef started wriggling around again, desperate to get out. Andy couldn’t fall, because if she fell, she would be in the water, and if she was in the water, she wouldn’t be able to swim, and if she wasn’t able to swim, she would drown, and if she drowned, if she died, she’d be gone, _gone, dead, unable to know the truth,_ unable to share even a _morsel of her life with Stef_. _She couldn’t lose her._

“ _Andy,_ _no,_ _please_ \--”

Stef couldn’t finish that thought as she heard Brand’s named called out before the love of her life disappeared from view.

She was crying before she even started losing her utter mind. Her sobs were ugly and scorching hot, stupid machine gun gasps that brought forth no air. The man holding her back didn’t relent his hold either; the sword made it even worse for her composure, a frustrating reminder she had to stand and watch this all happen, and Stef was having a full blown meltdown. She couldn’t make heads or tails what was going on anymore, all she knew was Andy was _gone_ , totally and utterly gone. Her heart ached harder than her wrists.

“Don’t be dead, _don’t be dead_ ,” she stammered, “ _Don’t be dead Andy, I love you!_ ”

The truth was finally out there, whether or not Andy heard it. She would have heaved another set of tears if it wasn’t for the fact that she was collected up by the criminals. Feet stumbled across the deck as she was stuck up on the end of the gangplank. End of the line.

She hung her head and forced steady breaths, ready to take as big of one as possible. Something—someone—wiggled in place behind her.

“She’s gonna be okay, Stef. “It was Mouth, whose voice wavered in fear. “Brand went after her, she’ll be okay.”

Stef’s eyes shot open and she choked back a set of relieved tears. At this point, she didn’t care if Brand was the one to jump to rescue her, if Brand was the one who got time away from others with her, if that would end up with her falling for him. At least she’d be safe, at least she’d be alive.

Her choice from earlier stood: if Andy had to be with a guy, Brand was a good choice.

The tip of a sword poked at her side, but it wasn’t that that made her nearly stumble over the edge.

“ _Hey you guys_!” A deep voice hollered out from above, and Stef whipped her head around.

Up in the mast, against the pale, aging sails, were two figures; they slid down the main one like an extra in an Eroll Flynn movie. The taller one she couldn’t make out, but it wasn’t hard to guess who the short red blob was meant to be.

“ _Chunk_ ,” she and Mouth both exclaimed.

Mama Fratelli was very annoyed. “Sloth?! How’d he get out?”

Chunk barked out something, and “Sloth” took a rope and swung down. It didn’t take long to figure out that he was headed _straight for_ her and Mouth. Big beefy arms collected them up, and she fought to not slip out and into the pool anyway. Mid-arc, she glanced up to see a man with a malformed face. The shock was momentary, and she immediately recognized him. The It from hours and hours ago, free from shackles now.

Dumped down to the deck of the ship with Mouth and the boys, she started twisting her wrists around again. Still too tight, she let them yank the ropes apart, and finally, she was free. Stef stood up, gave her hands a shake, and ran a stressed one through her hair.

“Chunk!” Mikey stared up at his friend, who wore a pirate hat and waved around a curved dagger.

“No, _Captain Chunk!_ ” He grinned, sure of himself. “And Captain Chunk says ‘let’s get the hell outta here!’”

He ascended up a rope, trying to imitate their savior, but toppled over, dropping his old weapon. Everyone pulled him to his feet, and then paused. All eyes fell on Stef, who shrank back sheepishly.

“How… how much did you hear?” She asked.

“Everything,” they said, more or less.

Stef balled up her fists and stood up straight. “Don’t tell anyone.”

They all agreed and nodded, save for Chunk who asked what happened. There was no time to really explain, though, (and Stef was lucky for that), as Sloth gestured for them to escape off the ship.

There was only one way down: the very same plank Stef and Mouth were just on a minute ago. The Fratelli brothers were distracted and held back by the defensive end-looking guy, leaving only the mother in their way, grunting and brandishing a cutlass. What she didn't realize that it was no match for four rambunctious boys and a very angry lesbian. Shoved back by the Goonies, Stef followed through with a running punch to the side of the face that made her arm ache and would have made her dad really proud.

Kicking off the gangplank as hard as she could, she sailed through the air and plunged down. The cool water was welcome this time, and Stef took a split second to let herself be consumed by the water. No octopus this time, the sensation of floating underneath was almost relaxing. She wished she could stay like that for longer, so she could stretch out her limbs and take a second to simply _think_ and not have to worry about anything, but unfortunately there were still things to worry about.

Stef swam up and to the boys, shaking her hair around as she stopped next to Data. “Where’s the lovebirds?” She frowned.

He pointed off to two person-shaped blobs in the distance up against the rocky wall, grimacing at the sight of them cavorting about. Arms were around vague, fuzzy heads, nose probably up against nose, and she almost wished she didn’t follow his finger. She made a face as well.

Still, Andy was alive, that much was true, and she started paddling over.

“Wait! What about Sloth?” Chunk waved around, garnering her attention. “We can’t leave him!”

“Who is that guy anyway?” Mouth asked.

“He’s the Good Fratelli! He was in the basement, he was the one who scared us!” His expression hardened, “Those jerks had him locked up like some kinda zoo animal! He saved me though, he’s my friend!”

At mention of him, Sloth made a grand appearance out on the gangplank, holding his own mother. On what looked like a count to three, he tossed her overboard, followed by a surprisingly gracefully dive of his own. The boys cheered as he made his way over, and Stef couldn’t help but join in on the merriment.

Chunk started excitedly introducing him properly to them and Stef offered a smile, one that became a gasp when she felt someone bump up behind her. Andy and Brand finally finished their fun, and it was Andy who gave her a friendly nudge. She had opened her mouth to say something, but Stef didn’t even give her the chance to speak.

She tackled her into the water and pulled her tight, hugging her close, refusing to let go. When they raised back from under the surface, droplets ran down her face, indistinguishable from the tears of joy that streamed down. Stef tried to say “I’m so glad you’re okay” but it came out as pained wheezing and sniffling instead.

Andy understood the sentiment, at least, and nodded against her. It was a complete 180 from earlier, the circle of near-loss complete… now maybe they wouldn’t nearly die again.

“C’mon,” Brand said, brow furrowed as he took broad strokes past the two. “We have time for tearful reunions later.”

Mikey did not look pleased with this, however, and he tried to yank his massive brother back. “Brand—we can’t go, we can’t leave all that gold! _That’s our future_!”

The older Walsh shook his head. “No Mikey, if we stay here, we’ve got no future, c’mon. We’ll come back for it later.”

He had a point. Too many people had close encounters that night. Guns and swords and spiky death traps had been involved, and everyone went the whole night without one good break to get some shuteye. The treasure, it was _just_ in their grasp… but what was it worth if they died anyway?

The more and more they swam, the more heavy Stef felt. Her muscles throbbed and she yearned for a second to sit down and close her eyes. Soon, hopefully, they’d get somewhere safe and she could pass the hell out on the spot. She winced as she passed around a massive boulder jutting from the ground, blinding white light shining in her eyes--

“That’s it! A light!” Brand pulled himself to the rocky makeshift shore.

Stef’s shoes scraped up against a floor, and she moved to wade up out of the water. A light breeze drifted around the area – this must have been what lit up the entire cavern, where the fresh air came from. Brand, Mikey, and Data scrambled over to investigate; she stayed back with the others, leaning against a rock, trying not to fall asleep.

“There’s been a cave-in here before,” he said. “Maybe we can get through...” He knelt down and started trying to pick through, with no luck.

He turned to Data, and Mikey started digging through his backpack of gadgets and tools. The last candle was pulled out and ignited. She squinted, wondering why it was sparking everywhere… could candles go bad?

When the three screamed and threw it behind them, she realized that was not a candle. They ran back over, nearly knocking everyone over. But either way, back into the water they went, trying to escape the radius of the candle-that-was-actually-a-stick-of-old-fashioned-dynamite.

Barely having any time to duck out of line of sight, there was a heavy, thick explosion that quaked the entire cave. Rocks tumbled and splashed down next to them, and when Stef raised her head, the way was clear. There was an exit out to morning light, out of One-Eyed Willy’s cave, back to home.

Something rumbled; a massive boulder from above fell directly in the way of the expanded hole. More rocks above were crumbling down. Did they start a cave-in? There was going to be another one very soon apparently, but their only way out was blocked.

The Goonies scampered over and started pushing against the rock, trying to heave it out of the way. Even with Brand helping, though, that rock wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Mikey took the time to whine about the treasure again, which didn’t help their desperation any bit.

Someone pushed past Stef and the others: Sloth. He stomped forward and started leveraging it away with his shoulders. They all watched as he struggled against it, and then, lifting from his back up, it was pushed up. It was going to be a tight fit, crawling under him and under the rock, but it was their only hope.

Chunk started shouting at Sloth about being left behind, but Stef wasn’t going to stick around to see what was going to happen. She crouched through, hoping there wouldn’t be a freak accident with the rock falling on top of her, but there wasn’t. She scraped fingers and knuckles against the tiny exit, and then she was out, nearly falling out of the crevice.

All at once, light from the sun, glancing off the Pacific Ocean, hit her face and eyes, and she couldn’t see a damn thing. Her eyes hurt and she rubbed at them as if that would make any difference. Things only really hit her once she lifted her hands away, shoulders relaxing back, standing there and feeling the comforting Astoria wind.

She was free, she was safe. The night was over.

All support in her shoes was gone and her feet throbbed against loose ocean rocks as they walked. And while, yes, the night was over, the morning was not. Who knew where they even came out from and how far away town was? A thick, natural archway was easy to notice out in the water; they were at least close enough, near Cauldron Point, just a little ways north of Cannon Beach.

The Goonies shuffled off after Chunk was pacified about his new friend, Sloth. It took everyone to talk him down and that Sloth would be okay. Besides his initial arguing, everyone was dead silent, zonked out. Nothing need to be said about the night after it all. There was no witty joke to make, no closing statement, no thoughtful one-liner that would make up for everything they went through.

Each step was a reminder that they left behind the treasure. Would they even be able to return to it? The cave-in, would it destroy the ship? Would it be lost for eternity this time? Everyone survived, yes, but the fact that loomed overhead was that _they left behind the treasure_. The boys set out on this wild goose chase to find it, to save the Goon Docks, and they came back with nothing.

Efforts were not always rewarded, apparently.

The younger boys started screaming and waving their arms around. Stef had a hard time believing they still had energy, but when they pointed out cops down the beach (that she still couldn’t see, even if she squinted), she found her own to flail skywards. Luckily, the police sped down to them on ATVs. Soon enough, they had radioed down a Jeep; there was barely enough space for all of them to pile in.

All together like that, it didn’t even occur to Stef how cold she was, and she gladly huddled up I one big Goonie pile. She maybe could have fallen asleep if the drive had been longer and not as bumpy. A small building for state park reasons had been relatively close the whole time, and that’s where they stopped. They were each offered an oversized state trooper jacket, a beanie, and a blanket while they waited for their parents to arrive.

Stef perched atop a rock, blanket around her legs. She rocked back and forth a little, thoughts elsewhere. A lot was about to happen. She was going to tell her parents she was gay, and she was going to talk to Andy once they weren’t both distracted with what would probably be tearful reunions (on their parents’ part, of course). Dealing with the Fratellis and dead pirates and their fatal puzzles felt like both scarier and easier than this at the same time. As the seconds before ticked away, her nerves were utterly shot, numb to the pain. Maybe that’d help her out, she thought.

A van careened down the hill, practically coming to a sliding stop in the parking lot. The doors flew open and adult after adult hurried out, almost like a little car full of concerned clowns. Each family beelined for their respective child, and here came Stef’s dad and mom.

Mom hugged her first, who looked like she had been crying for ten straight hours. Her dad clapped a hand down on her shoulder, looking rather stoic, but Stef noticed the twinkle of tears in his eye.

“You had us worried, honey,” he said, the Steinbrenner Nose Wrinkle helping to keep from getting too emotional.

“Stephanie,” mom warbled, “Are you okay? What happened? Where did you go?”

She scratched her head while she was clung to. “It’s a long story,” she said, tiredly, before turning to her dad. “I lost my glasses.”

He smiled and nodded. “That’s okay. We can replace those. Can’t replace you. Here...” He pulled out an older pair from a year ago. “Had a feeling these might be come in handy.”

They weren’t as nice as her previous were, but it’d work in a pinch. Stef stuck them on her nose and finally, after hours of stumbling through caves and stubbing her toes, she could properly see. One less thing to worry about.

...and in regards to another, Stef bit her lip. “Mom, I’m gay.”

Mom tilted her head towards her almost like a lost puppy. “What?”

The pressure was on, anxiety building inside her at a breakneck pace. The words came out in hushed mumbles. “I’m gay. You’re mad at me aren’t you? I just thought that—that since I--”

Her mom eventually shook her head. “I’m not mad, of course I’m not mad. I don’t really understand, but I’m not mad.”

Dad shrug his shoulders, “we’ll talk about it later,” and joined in with the hug, pulling the two to their feet.

Stef’s face got hot and red. It was good to get that off of her chest after so long, after all, and they seemed… receptive..? She had no idea what to expect from either of them, but her dad calling for a family discussion seemed like a good sign. She had a bounce to her step now, and had enough auxiliary energy to give them a proper hug.

Andy caught her eye from afar, looking a ridiculous kind of cute. The cops had run out of beanies and she was instead given a set of earmuffs that stood out from her red hair. Stef’s dad caught her staring, and vaguely gestured at her as to ask “her?” She returned it with her own vague nod, and he awkwardly smiled.

Yeah, that was a much better sign.

Released from her parents’ grasp, she walked her way over to her best friend, to finally pull her away and tell her everything, but someone stepped in the way. It was Mouth, hands in his pocket, studying his own shoes carefully.

“Stef,” he mumbled. “Can I talk to you really quick?”

She peeked over at Andy, then relented. “Sure.”

Mouth jiggled in place a little, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “Listen. About… everything. I didn’t know about...” The words were hard for him to come by.

“It’s fine,” she said, chewing at the inside of her mouth. “Nobody knew. That was the point.”

“Oh. Yeah. But either way, I just wanted to… apologize, I guess.”

“ _Apologize?_ ” Stef squinted at him and only relented when he started stammering about stopping all his awful jokes at her expense. “It’s fine, _I guess_. You don’t seem to hate me for this, so… we’re cool. Still friends.”

“Cool.” He kicked himself for repeating her, and then offered a handshake. “I don’t want to overstep and make you freak.”

Stef considered the handshake comically with a hand to the chin before reeling him for a squeeze of a hug. “Bastard,” she smiled.

“Loser,” he replied.

The hug ended when she noticed Andy more or less alone, not being hounded by her family. Mouth let go, gave her a confident slap to the arm, and moved on to bother Mikey and the others. Stef took a deep breath and walked over, poking her in the stomach.

“Hey,” Andy said. “Oh, you got your glasses back!”

“Yeah,” Stef replied, trying not to get tongue-tied by her inner thoughts. “Um, can I steal you away for a sec?”

She accepted and Stef led her away from the gaggle of people, back behind a bigger rock, entirely away from the prying eyes of anyone else. Her heart was suddenly in her throat and she may or may not have been able to feel her own feet, which she couldn’t help but stare down at. She tried to find the words, having to jumpstart her brain a few times, and then she opened her mouth.

“I should tell you something,” Stef nearly choked. “I, um… Brand wasn’t the one who kissed you in that cave. And I--”

“I know.”

She blinked, hard, as if her eyesight was her hearing. The expression on Andy’s face was unreadable, but she didn’t seem disgusted or horrified or surprised. Stef swallowed hard. “Know, know what?”

“I kissed you,” Andy sheepishly bit her own lip. “I know.”

Stef had no idea where to go from there. And so, with bright blush across her nose and cheeks, she blurted it out. “I love you.”

She immediately regretted admitting it, her insides felt like they were folding in, collapsing like the caves they were just in. Having yourself this utterly exposed was terrifying, to say the least, and the fear that telling Andy would make things worse overtook her mind.

Andy stood there, taking it all in, gears obviously turning in her head. She finally said, “I kissed Brand--”

“I’m sorry,” Stef said, hiding her face. That was it, they kissed. It was all over. So much for anything.

“I kissed Brand and I knew something was up.” Andy prodded at her. She forced Stef’s hands down by holding them both. “You two have… very different lips. But the other thing that tipped me off was... well. The only reason I felt like I was floating when I kissed him was because I was in the water.”

Dumbfounded. Stef was dumbfounded, unable to even comprehend what Andy had just said. At least now she didn’t feel like she was going to die on the spot. Did she enjoy the kiss? Was she turning her down? She felt less like a great weight was on her shoulders, but her relief wasn’t entirely certain how to let itself out.

“So,” she stammered. “What now?”

Andy smiled nervously as her hands took to the collar of the leather jacket Stef wore, who met eyes with her. Once she realized she was being slowly pulled in, Stef leaned in and met her halfway. They kissed for the second time, a soft test of the waters, and then deeper for a third time.

The only thoughts that came to Stef were entirely foreign, ones she wasn’t able to understand at all. Comfort was one way to _maybe_ describe it, as was relief, but it was so overwhelming that she started to tear up and laugh at the same time.

Stef admitted everything and Andy eagerly accepted it, but what was the use? She’d have to move away in a few weeks, and then they’d be apart anyways.

They had one last squeeze of a hug before Andy let go, looking quite shocked. Stef glanced around and spotted four people coming up the shore of Cauldron Point, all looking haggered and beaten around by water. She immediately recognized them: the Fratellis. Even Sloth was with them, and Chunk screeched, sprinting over and shielding him from the police with a Domino’s box. The rest of the Goonies clamored over to defend him, with even Andy and Stef hurrying over to help, pretending like they were just having a good heart to heart behind the rocks.

Sloth grabbed a cop by the shirt and lifted him into the air with ease. Easily intimidated, the police instead turned their attention to the other three, with much arguing and shouting coming from the two brothers as they were carted off to a cop car.

It was nice to see them be locked up finally, but Stef’s mood elation sunk to the pits when she spotted two new people approaching the group. One wore a trenchcoat and trilby, the other a varsity jacket. It was Troy and his dad, not providing even the slightest of reprieve to the Walsh family in this time of crisis end.

“Alright Walsh,” Mr. Perkins started, “Today’s the day, so let’s get this over with.”

Stef found it in her to converge around everyone. She stood next to Andy as they watched and, from behind Brand, nobody could see them holding hands. When Troy barked out a smarmy order to Mr. Walsh, she squeezed it, wishing she could deck him across the face just like Mama Fratelli. Brand was the one to try and rush the guy, and had to have literally everyone hold him back from knocking his lights out.

Mikey sadly looked up at his father. “Sorry, Dad. We had our hands on the future… but we blew it to save our own lives. Sorry.”

His dad swallowed back tears. “It’s alright. You and Brand are home safe with your mom and me. That makes us the richest people in Astoria.” He leaned forward and kissed his wife’s cheek.

Mr. Perkins was impatient. “Walsh… You’re _looking_ at the richest people in Astoria. Now, _sign it._ ” He pulled out a contract and pen, handed it to him, and turned to provide a back-shaped writing surface.

Stef’s hands started to shake. This was it. This was the end. All of this had been for nothing, and her moment with Andy and any more that would they would share in the next few weeks would be bittersweet memories. She casually turned away and pinched the bridge of her nose to keep herself from crying.

Someone behind her started to wildly speak, not that she could understand a word of it. It was a short Mexican woman, standing there, shaking her hands at Mikey’s dad, shouting over and over at him.

Every single one of the Goonies pulled Mouth over, asking him to translate. The pressure was on, and he put a hand to his temple to focus. “No pen..?” He mumbled. “No write...”

He jumped in place when he figured it out. “ _No sign!_ _No sign!_ ”

It was suddenly a race as to who could wrench the pen away from Mr. Walsh, and it was a race with no resolute winner, as a flurry of teenage arms and hands was impossible to keep track of. The lady who had raised a ruckus ran over, pulled out Mrs. Walsh’s hand, and poured something out from a small sack.

Gems. Emeralds, rubies… all different colors, all from One-Eyed Willy’s trove. Stef’s jaw dropped, as did everyone else’s.

“Dad, it’s my marble bag!” Mikey hollered. “The Fratellis forgot to check it! I emptied out the marbles and put the jewels in it! _We don’t have to leave the Goon Docks!_ ”

Mr. Walsh immediately started ripping the document to pieces, smiling excitedly. “There’ll be no more signing… today… or _ever again!_ ”

The contract ceased to be, and was tossed into the air, the scraps and shreds fluttering around every which way. Everyone cheered loudly, and maybe cried a little, as did Stef. She scooped Andy into a big hug, and then dragged whoever was close by in for the hell of it.

The media finally arrived, cameras and crews descending onto them, shoving microphones into their face, asking for their story. They mentioned what they could: the octopus, the ship and being forced onto an actual gangplank, not to mention being chased by the Fratellis the whole while.

One policeman, the sheriff, pushed his way through, berating Chunk for telling more gratuitous lies for attention. Mikey and Mouth came to his defense though, arguing about it being real, of which he didn’t seem to listen, as he was too distracted.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” he whispered out loud.

Stef followed his gaze, turning around, and there it was, out in the ocean. One-Eyed Willy’s ship, free from the confines of its cavern. Despite being centuries old, it still floated on, it was still a working sailboat.

It wasn’t every day you saw a real life pirate ship drift across the water.

She sat down with the others and just...watched it go. Who knows where it and its treasure would end up? In a strange sense, none of it had been theirs to take. One-Eyed Willy clearly lived on, his spirit carrying his ship and crew on past their mortality, off into the great unknown. It was cathartic, it closed out on this whole ordeal nicely.

When it came time for everyone to head home, Stef made sure to give each and every one of her friends a big hug. Of course, she lingered on Andy, and she had to actively try not to kiss her right then and there. Andy slipped in a whisper about a Halloween party a week from now, once things died down and life got back to normal, which she quickly accepted with a laugh.

“See you then, _Goonie_ ,” she joked.

Andy blushed. “As if you aren’t one,” she replied.

She wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t even that all of this _made_ her a Goonie. Standing there, watching her potential girlfriend get into a car and drive off, she could confidently say that she had always been one.

Mikey was right, back in the Moss Garden wishing well. That was their time. And it would continue to be their time, _her_ time, because she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Goon Docks were her home, she worked on the docks with smelly fish, and she couldn’t be more proud than ever to say it.

Goonies stick together, and that’s exactly what was going to happen.


End file.
